


We Never Walk Alone

by UnitedPizza149



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Asexuality, Elementary School, F/M, Growing Up Together, High School, Hurt/Comfort, Interspecies Romance, Middle School, Predator/Prey, Teen Angst, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:20:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 71,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnitedPizza149/pseuds/UnitedPizza149
Summary: Judy and Nick meet as young kits to whom the divide between predator and prey seems trivial. But as they grow older, conflicting feelings about his identity as a predator consume Nick's mind, while Judy tries hard to understand why they are so different. Is it possible for two mammals as opposite as them to hold onto their bond, or are they fated to one day walk alone yet again...?
Relationships: Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49





	1. No Longer Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Hello AO3!! This story was originally posted on fanfiction.net and I'm cross-posting it here, so for the sake of consistency, I'm going to include all my author's notes from the fanfiction.net version from here on out. And, from Chapter 14 and onwards, I will be updating the story on both sites at the same time. That's all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first fanfiction I've ever written, so I have more or less no idea what I'm doing.
> 
> This is basically an AU where Nick's family moves to Bunnyburrow and he and Judy meet each other as kids. At the moment, my plan is for the story to span several years and detail Judy and Nick's lives as they grow up together. This will eventually be a romance between Nick and Judy, though obviously not until they're a bit older. I don't know exactly how many chapters there will be before reaching Nick and Judy's teen years, because as I said, I have no idea what I'm doing.
> 
> That being said, this first chapter is an idea I've had for quite a while, since even before I started reading fanfiction. However, after the second chapter, I will mostly be flying blind so I don't know how often I will post updates. I will try to update as often as I can, though.
> 
> Ok, time for me to shut up. I hope you enjoy it!

Judy Hopps stared up at the approaching predator, her eyes widening in fear as she slowly tried to back away.

How had it come to this? Just mere seconds ago, Judy had stood up to Gideon Grey and flat out told him she wasn't afraid. She had even been brave enough to fight back and kick him right in the face when he taunted her.

But now, as the fox was coming straight at her, claws out, Judy was frozen. She wanted to get up off the ground and run, but her muscles wouldn't cooperate. By this point, Sharla and the others were too far away to help, and Judy couldn't really blame them for it. She had brought herself into this mess because she didn't want to see her friends hurt, and if that meant she had to get hurt in the process, then so be it.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Gideon said. And Judy knew he was right. She couldn't bring herself to regret the decisions that brought her here.

Judy winced as Gideon's claws slashed her cheek, closing her eyes suddenly but not uttering a sound. It took everything she had, but she was not about to let _this_ fox see her cry, no matter how much she wanted to.

Trying her best to ignore the searing pain, Judy kept her eyes firmly shut. She placed a single paw on her cheek, hoping it would lessen the pain, but she did not dare look to see what Gideon would do next. In her other paw, she was relieved when she felt the familiar texture of paper. At least, she thought, she had accomplished what she came to do, and that should be enough. She only hoped the big fox didn't realize she had retrieved the tickets.

Judy remained frozen in place; her eyes still clenched shut, as she heard Gideon snarl again. She didn't want to open her eyes, didn't want to watch what would happen next.

" _He…he wouldn't really try to eat me, would he?"_ she thought, recalling his earlier comment about how predators used to eat prey. She should have realized it was quite a stretch to expect the fox to actually eat her, but she was too frightened to think straight.

And that was when she heard the voice. With her friends far away and Gideon closing in on her, Judy felt hopeless for the first time. She had stood up for her friends, but there was no one to stand up for her. She was alone.

Or so she thought.

"Hey!" called the voice of a boy who sounded like he was about the same age as Judy. "Leave that bunny alone!"

"Huh?" Judy thought, surprised.

Opening her eyes just slightly, she flinched when she saw yet another fox running towards her. Unlike Gideon, he was only a little taller than Judy herself, but what startled her were his eyes. They were bright green and filled with ferocity. This fox was angry, angrier even than Gideon when he got kicked in the face. Somehow, despite his smaller size, he seemed far more intimidating than the larger fox right now.

"Who are you?" Gideon asked; he seemed taken aback by the new arrival as well. "I ain't seen you 'round here before—"

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" the smaller fox shouted, looking Gideon directly in the eye. "Leave her alone! What did she ever do to you?!"

Still breathing heavily and too scared to move, Judy watched the scene with wide eyes. Even Gideon seemed apprehensive of the smaller fox now, as he was unable to respond. A few times, he opened his mouth as if he was going to speak, but stopped. Apparently, his friend Travis had already run away, as Judy didn't see him anywhere.

"Who—who do you think you are?" Gideon inquired, finally able to put words together.

"Excuse me?" the smaller fox replied; he was so angry now that he was starting to shake, something Judy herself had felt when she'd first noticed Gideon bullying Sharla and her friends. "Who do _I_ think _I_ am?! Why did you hurt that bunny?! She didn't do anything to—"

"How do you know what she did?" Gideon demanded. "You weren't—"

"Yes, I was; I saw the whole thing!" the other fox continued. "She was trying to protect her friends, and you—you—"

His anger rising, the fox let out a tremendously loud noise that was somewhere between a snarl and a shout, and Gideon immediately turned and hurried away. For a moment, Judy expected the new arrival to chase after him, but instead…he turned around.

As the mystery fox began slowly approaching her, Judy finally pulled her paw away from her cheek and saw it stained red. Though she had suspected she was bleeding, the sight of it still made her feel faint all of a sudden. It didn't help that she was already shaking in fear as the green-eyed fox walked towards her.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, kneeling down beside her. "I saw you were bleeding—hold on…"

He pulled some kind of wet tissue from his backpack and reached out towards her cheek. Startled, Judy flinched, edging backwards.

"It's ok!" the fox assured her, reaching his other paw towards her as if to calm her. "I won't hurt you. Just…hold still, ok?"

Judy was not particularly thrilled about having another predator's claws so close to her, but she did as he asked nonetheless. Gently, the fox pressed the wet tissue to her cuts; all of his rage seemed to have vanished completely. Judy whimpered slightly as the wet wipe stung a little. A few tears formed in her eyes, and unlike earlier, she did not try to hold them back.

"I'm sorry; I guess it does hurt a little," the fox apologized. "But that cut looks really bad and you don't want it to get infected."

"Why…why are you doing this?" Judy asked, her voice still quivering.

"Well, I guess because you were hurt and I wanted to help you," the fox replied, clearly confused by the question. "And what you did was really brave, standing up to him like that…"

Judy continued to hold still as he pulled a bandage from his backpack and carefully placed it on her cheek. Almost instinctively, she expected his sharp claws to cut her, but they didn't. The fox was incredibly careful and gentle, which surprised her. Sure, she had never been quite as distrustful of foxes as her father, but deep inside, she was still afraid. Now, as she looked into this fox's green eyes as he finished applying the bandage, she wondered why. Why was she afraid?

"Do I…scare you?" he asked.

"N-no!" Judy insisted. "I'm not…I…"

"It's ok," he said softly, backing away slightly. "I understand. I didn't want to scare you; I just wanted to help you. I…don't like to see other mammals get hurt. But I guess you're ok now, so I'll just go…"

He sounded so disappointed when he said those words; Judy couldn't help but feel bad. She had no reason to fear this fox, so why did she? He had rescued her, tended to her wounds, and even tried to comfort her. It was more than she could have hoped for, especially from someone she didn't know.

Just as the fox stood up and started to walk away, Judy got to her feet and followed after him.

"Wait!" she said. "Don't go! I'm sorry…"

He turned back around to face her, looking her right in the eyes. How was it that those same eyes that had looked so terrifying before now seem gentle? How was it that a fox, the animal Judy had been raised to fear, now looked at her with kindness?

"Why are you apologizing?" he asked. "It's not your fault you were hurt."

Judy was almost certain he knew why she was apologizing; he was just being nice.

" _Far too nice,"_ she thought, ashamed. _"I don't deserve it. Why am I still scared of him?"_

"I told you, it's ok," the fox continued. "You're not the only bunny that's scared of me. Actually…you're probably the nicest mammal I've met in Bunnyburrow so far."

"Do you…really mean that?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, I mean no one else was going to stand up to Gideon Grey, and I know you were scared of him too but you didn't let that stop you," he replied.

"But…that's different," Judy insisted. "Gideon is a jerk and I had every reason to be scared of him. But you…"

"I won't pretend it doesn't bother me," the fox admitted. "I don't _want_ you to be afraid of me. But you don't want to be scared of me either, so it's not your fault. Anyway, I know you have to go give those tickets back to your friends, so I'll just go—"

"Wait!" Judy interrupted.

Trying to ignore the fact that her whole body was shaking, she reached a paw out towards the fox. He looked genuinely surprised.

"I'm Judy," she said. "Thank you for…everything. I'm…so lucky I met you."

For the first time, a faint smile crossed the fox's face, and he cautiously took her paw with his own.

"Nick," he replied. "And I'm just as lucky I met you, Judy."

"Judy!" called Sharla's voice from nearby.

"Well, I guess you have to go," Nick said, letting go of her paw. "I hope I see you again, Judy."

And before Judy could say anything else, Nick was gone. Sharla and the others hurried over to make sure she was ok, having witnessed most of the excitement from a safe distance. They were grateful that Judy had retrieved the tickets, relieved when they saw that she was ok, and confused when she explained what had just happened with Nick.

Even Judy herself didn't fully understand what had just happened. Nick seemed somehow unlike anyone else she had met, but she could never have guessed just how much their meeting would change her life forever.

After all, she was only nine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like this chapter? Let me know what you thought! (you know, if you want to.)


	2. That Makes Two of Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't write the scene where Nick stands up for Judy without including one where she stands up for him as well, since I've been picturing both of these scenes in my head for, like, three years or something. However, because both Nick and Judy were already in Bunnyburrow for the first chapter, I thought it would be difficult to come up with a reason for both of them to be in Zootopia at the same time (and the exact same place) for the scene to work properly.
> 
> So, I recreated the scene with the Scouts in Bunnyburrow. It's still mostly the same, except that all of the other kids are bunnies.
> 
> I also want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, or favorited this story. I never expected to get as many views as I have already; I thought I would get, like, fifteen or twenty. I hope you all like this chapter, too!

Nick Wilde should have known this was coming.

His family had only moved to Bunnyburrow about a week ago, but Nick already felt out of place here. The name was accurate; more than three quarters of the population were bunnies, and many of them were not particularly fond of foxes.

Maybe, he thought, it would have been different if he had been able to join the Junior Ranger Scouts in Zootopia. But, then the move happened, and now he would never know. All he knew was that he should never have joined the Scouts here in Bunnyburrow.

Everything went downhill the moment Nick had finished reciting the oath he had memorized so well, to be brave, loyal, helpful, and trustworthy. It was at that last word—trustworthy—that the bunnies' false kindness disappeared.

"Even though you're a _fox_?" one bunny sneered.

It took a second for the words to register in Nick's mind. Until now, all of the rabbit Scouts had been more or less accepting of him…or so he thought.

"W-what…?" was all he could think to say.

Before he had a chance to make sense of what was happening, the lights went out and Nick was knocked to the floor. Being a fox, he could see fairly well in the dark, but that did nothing to calm his nerves. As the group of bunnies closed in around him, Nick's heart started pounding. He was already frozen with fear when the group of rabbits grabbed him and held him down, too fast for him to react.

"N-no!" he cried. "What did I ever do wrong, you guys? Please, tell me what I did wrong!"

Nick tried desperately to squirm free, but the rabbits only held him down tighter. They laughed, taunting him as they forced a muzzle onto his snout.

"If you thought we'd ever trust a fox without a muzzle," one of the rabbits said mockingly, "you're even dumber than you look!"

Panic filled the young fox as he realized what was happening. He started screaming, his voice muffled from the device holding his mouth closed. In a few split-seconds, panic gave way to sheer terror as Nick's heart rate increased again and he began breathing rapidly.

" _Is this what it's always going to be like?"_ he thought, tears filling his eyes. _"It doesn't matter what I do; they'll never trust me. They'll never accept me…"_

"Hey!" called a voice from the door, interrupting Nick's thoughts.

" _Could it be…?"_ Nick thought, trying to sit up and get a good look at the new arrival. _"It sure sounds like her…"_

The lights came on in an instant, revealing the evidence of what the rabbits had done. Standing at the door was Judy, dressed in her police uniform and looking angrier than ever. When her purple eyes fell on Nick, however, her gaze softened and he saw a single tear stream down her face.

"What did you _do_ to him?!" she shrieked, her voice breaking.

Judy ran forward, the other rabbits shuffling away nervously as she approached Nick. As she neared him, he thought he saw a trace of hesitation in her eyes. Her nose twitched slightly.

" _She's still scared of me,"_ Nick realized. Somehow, that thought pained him even more than being muzzled by the other bunnies. _"Will no one ever trust me? I just want them to understand me! I don't want to hurt anyone!"_

In that moment, as Nick watched Judy approach him cautiously, he decided he couldn't take it. When she had introduced herself at the Carrot Days festival, he had been ecstatic. Finally, someone had actually tried to be his friend, even if she had been nervous at first. Nick had been hopeful that Judy would come to see him for who he was, and wouldn't fear him anymore.

Now, it seemed that would never happen. Judy was always going to be afraid of him because he was a fox, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

So, closing his eyes to avoid Judy's gaze, Nick got to his feet and ran for the door, unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face. It hurt when the Scouts wouldn't accept him, but the thought of Judy not accepting him was almost unbearable. Unlike the Scouts, Judy had been kind to him. She wanted to be his friend. And if she couldn't overcome her fear, then no one could.

"Wait!" Judy called from behind him. "Nick!"

Nick kept running, out of the building and off into the lush countryside of Bunnyburrow, not even bothering to look behind him. He couldn't face that bunny. He just couldn't. Seeing her fearful expression made him feel ashamed, not of something he'd done but of what he was.

He was a predator, and prey would always fear him.

Finally, Nick couldn't keep running and had to give his legs a rest. Collapsing on the ground, he cried as he frantically tried to pull the muzzle off his snout. He began to panic as he struggled with the device, terrified he wouldn't be able to get it off.

Then, he felt another paw on his shoulder.

"Here, let me try," Judy said softly.

Nick still didn't want to face her, but he reluctantly stopped pulling at the muzzle and sat still. Judy knelt in front of him and gently reached for the muzzle's straps. As she carefully removed the device from his snout, Nick looked into her eyes. Purple eyes were definitely rare, and Nick himself had never seen another mammal with that particular eye color until meeting Judy. What truly struck him about her eyes, though, was how they looked so soft and kind, and yet fierce and determined as well. She was truly a unique bunny; that was for sure.

Once Judy had removed the muzzle, she stood up, turned around, and flung it as far away as she could. There was a spark of anger in her eyes as she did so, one that reminded Nick of how he had felt when he'd seen Gideon bullying her.

Turning back to face Nick, Judy sat down in the grass beside him. Just now, he noticed that she was crying too. Nick was about to ask her what had upset her so much when she suddenly threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

"I can't believe they did that to you…" she said, sounding choked up. "You didn't deserve that. I'm so sorry, Nick…"

"It's not your fault, Judy…" Nick replied, surprised by how much the events had upset her.

" _How can she care that much about me?"_ he wondered. _"She's still afraid…"_

Wiping his tears away, Nick asked, "Would _you_ trust a fox without a muzzle?"

Judy looked up at him, the determination in her purple eyes stronger than ever.

"Yes," she said without any hesitation. "You…you were so kind to me, Nick. You stood up to Gideon for me, even though you didn't know me, and you…you helped me. I was…I was so scared because I was all alone and then you came out of nowhere and…"

Judy couldn't continue. She looked back down and burst into tears again. Nick could barely believe his ears.

"Do you really… _mean_ all of that?" he asked. "But…I'm a _fox_ , and—"

"I don't _care_!" Judy blurted out. "You're the nicest mammal I've ever met, and you deserve to be treated better than that! After what you did for me…I couldn't just leave you there, Nick. Why would you ever think I _wouldn't_ help you?"

"I thought…" Nick started uncertainly, "I thought you were…scared of me."

Judy was silent for a few seconds, and Nick suddenly felt bad for what he'd said. Yes, Judy might have been scared of him, but it was clear that she didn't want to be, and she had been nothing but kind to him since they had met.

"I'm sorry, Nick," Judy said, her voice weak and barely audible. "I don't know why I'm nervous, but I can't help it. I don't want to be scared of you, Nick. You deserve so much more than that. Just…promise me something. Promise…you'll never believe what they say about you. None of it's true, and it's not fair that they treat you like that. You made me believe in you, Nick, so please…don't ever stop believing in yourself. Promise?"

"I promise," Nick answered. "You can trust me to keep that promise, too."

Judy looked up at him again, and smiled slightly.

"I know I can," she said. "Hey, Nick? There's…something else I wanted to ask you…"

"What is it?" Nick inquired.

"Well…" Judy began hesitantly, "I wanted to ask if you…do _you_ think I could be a police officer someday?"

"Are you serious?" Nick replied. "After the way you stood up to Gideon Grey, and…what you did with the Scouts… I've never met anyone who would make a better police officer than you, Judy."

At this, Judy smiled even wider, and her eyes filled with tears again. This time, they were happy tears, and Nick couldn't help but smile too. He had made her happy, and that made him feel much better about himself.

"Bunnies…you're so emotional," Nick said jokingly.

Judy giggled, wiping away her tears.

"Yeah," she said, "well, if you think _I'm_ emotional, you should meet my dad. When I got that part in the play, he was so happy and he cried so much that my mom said he was going to flood the burrow."

At this, Nick and Judy shared a laugh for the first time. A few seconds passed in silence, before Nick spoke up again.

"Judy…are we friends?" he asked.

"Of course we're friends!" Judy confirmed. "We…we have to look out for each other, right? We protect each other."

"You're right," Nick agreed. "I…I know I said this before, but I'm so glad we met, Judy."

Judy smiled, and hugged him again.

"That makes two of us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? Was this a good follow-up to the first chapter? Let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, for those wondering, I did come up with a reason for why Judy shows up at the meeting of the Scouts, but I didn't include it in this chapter because I felt like it would interrupt the flow. Don't worry; I'll explain it in the next chapter!


	3. Keeping Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's been two weeks since I posted the last chapter. I guess I owe you all an explanation, huh?
> 
> I had a lot of stuff going on in the last two weeks. For most of the first week I was stressed about trying to recover some files from my sister's phone which had been dead for a year, and thankfully that all worked out fine. For the last week, I've been having weird moods off and on and haven't been able to get in the right mindset for writing this story. I apologize for that, because I was planning on writing and posting this chapter a week ago after the phone disaster sorted itself out, but then I got lazy and just kept putting it off...and here we are.
> 
> Because this chapter was written in kind of a rush (because I wanted to update before another week passed) I apologize if it's not the best. I usually wait a little while after I finish a chapter to see how I feel about it, but this one I just proofread one time before uploading. I didn't find any problems, but that doesn't mean for sure that there aren't any.
> 
> Also, because one reviewer asked about Nick and Judy's age difference: Nick is about six months older than Judy in this AU, but they are in the same grade.
> 
> Alright, I had better stop before I try to turn this author's note into its own story. Enjoy the chapter!

Judy awoke early the next morning, feeling strangely excited. She hadn't felt this good in quite some time, and she wasn't entirely sure what made her feel this way now. It wasn't Christmas, or her birthday, or anything obviously exciting, so what was it?

Judy didn't bother trying to figure that out; instead, she jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed, eager to enter the day with her renewed confidence.

"Judy, could you be a little quieter…?" moaned one of her brothers, who was still trying to sleep.

"Oh, come on, James!" Judy protested. "It's already morning! Are you just going to sleep all day?"

"It's not even 7:00 yet," James pointed out.

"Well, I want to get an early start today!" Judy shot back. "Is there a problem with that?"

"If you have to wake up the entire burrow, then yeah," James said.

Judy rolled her eyes and left the room, before their argument woke any of her other siblings. Since there were so many children in the Hopps family, each bedroom was filled with bunk beds and housed about twenty or more bunnies. Naturally, the rooms were pretty crowded, which meant one loud argument could wake everyone up.

As Judy happily skipped through the hall leading to the kitchen, however, her ears picked up another argument. Intrigued, she stopped and turned her ears toward the sound.

"—horrible, and now I'm just sick of that place!" said a voice Judy recognized as one of her older brothers.

"I understand that, Peter," Judy's mother, Bonnie, said, "but what I'm more concerned about is the fact that you went off on everyone like—"

"They wouldn't listen!" Peter interrupted. "They kept insisting that their kits were all sweet, innocent bunnies that would never hurt anyone, even though Judy saw—"

"Judy was there?" Bonnie inquired.

"Um…yeah," Peter replied. "I thought Dad told you. I'm not really sure why she wanted to come along, but Dad said it was ok, so he dropped her off with me."

" _What exactly does Mom mean about Peter 'going off' on everyone?"_ Judy wondered. _"Not surprising Dad didn't think to tell Mom about me going with him, though; he forgets everything."_

Judy's older brother, Peter, had been in the Junior Ranger Scouts when he was younger, and he'd liked it so much that he often went back to help the adults supervise the little ones. He was only fourteen, though, so one of their parents always had to drive him. Last night, when he'd mentioned something about a fox joining the troop, Judy had immediately begged to come along. She didn't know for sure that it was Nick, but she was hopeful. She hadn't seen him since the incident with Gideon Grey, and she still felt bad about being so afraid of him. She didn't really have a plan for what she would say to Nick if he turned out to be there, but she figured she'd think of that later.

And, considering what had happened with Gideon Grey not long ago, Judy knew her parents might be hesitant about letting her go if they knew she was planning to meet a fox there. Luckily for Judy, her father didn't bother to ask why she wanted to come along with Peter in the first place, and as she suspected, her mother wasn't informed either. Since Bonnie was dealing with all the rest of her kits, she apparently hadn't noticed Judy's absence. Though, Judy suspected she would have noticed had they been gone too much longer, because Bonnie was much more observant than Stu.

"You knew there would be a fox there, and you still brought her along?" Bonnie pressed. "After what happened at the festival?"

"This kit wasn't anything like Gideon Grey," Peter argued.

"But you didn't know that when you agreed to let her come," Bonnie continued.

"Look, he was just a normal kit who wanted to join the troop, ok?!" Peter replied. "He wasn't going to hurt anyone, and actually it's a good thing Judy was there because she ran outside after him and helped take the muzzle off."

"Well, it sounds like there's quite a lot that I wasn't told," Bonnie remarked. "When do you think your sister was planning to tell me? When were _you_ planning to tell—"

"You know she's listening, right?" said another voice. "She's been sitting there in the hallway for a while now."

The voice belonged to Chloe, one of Judy's older sisters. Apparently she had just entered the room and noticed her younger sister eavesdropping on the argument.

Judy sighed, defeated, and stepped into the room. Bonnie and Peter were both standing in the kitchen, while Chloe was already sitting down and eating cereal. Judy tried to prepare herself for the lecture that was sure to come as Bonnie walked towards her, looking rather displeased. Peter and Chloe both looked like they wanted to be somewhere else right now.

"Judy," Bonnie started, clearly trying to remain calm, "Why didn't you tell me what happened last night?"

"I-I didn't know what to say…" Judy replied vaguely, unable to think of a good excuse. "But Peter was right about Nick! He's really nice and I knew he wasn't going to hurt me…"

Bonnie sighed. She leaned over and put a paw on Judy's shoulder.

"I'm sure he wasn't," she said softly, "but you still should have told me. You know how your father is about foxes; if he knew you were going to meet one without telling us…"

"But Nick's the one who gave me the bandage when Gideon cut me!" Judy protested.

Bonnie raised her eyebrow. This was new information.

"You never said the other boy was a fox," she said questioningly.

"Well, that's because I thought Dad would be mad if he knew," Judy explained. "But Nick is really nice and we're friends now so please don't be mad!"

"I'm not mad that you made friends with a fox," Bonnie clarified, "but I _am_ concerned that you tried to keep it from us. Do you have any idea how worried your father and I were when we saw that bandage on your cheek? You were barely gone for five minutes and you come back hurt like that?"

She took a deep breath as if to calm herself, and then continued.

"All I'm saying is that both your father and I worry about you a lot," she said. "So when I find out you're keeping secrets from us…"

"I'm sorry, Mom," Judy apologized; she was looking down at the floor, ashamed.

"It's alright, Judy," Bonnie said. "But you understand I'm going to have to tell your father, don't you?"

Judy nodded, but didn't say anything. She was nervous about what her father would think, especially since he had never been very fond of foxes, and she hoped it wouldn't affect her friendship with Nick. Of course, there was nothing to do now except wait, so Judy started towards the kitchen until she noticed Peter was leaving the room.

" _What was it that he and Mom were arguing about?"_ she wondered. _"Did something happen with the Scouts while Nick and I were outside?"_

"Hey, wait up!" Judy said, running after him. "I need to ask you something!"

"Alright, I guess you can come outside with me then," Peter replied. "I really need to get some fresh air with all this madness that's going on."

He opened the door and stepped outside, Judy following behind him. She'd seen her brother upset before, but this seemed different somehow. It went deeper than just momentary anger; he looked rather shaken, and Judy wanted to know why.

"Ok, so what was Mom yelling at you about?" she asked.

"I lost my temper last night and made a big scene," Peter sighed. "I yelled at the kits about what they did to your friend, and from the way my throat hurts today I'm guessing I was screaming pretty loud. Then it got worse when their parents showed up and got all offended, saying I was being too harsh and their kits were all nice and sweet and it was 'completely inappropriate' for me to lecture them, so I just got the heck out of there."

" _Oh, so that's why he was in such a hurry,"_ Judy realized, recalling how her brother had acted a little standoffish when Stu came to pick them up last night. _"I guess the other Scouts' parents must have called Mom to complain about Peter; that must be how she found out."_

"So…you were mad about what they did, too?" Judy inquired.

"Of course I was!" Peter exclaimed. "Why would anyone think that was ok?! Look, we probably need to stop talking about it so I don't get angry again."

"But I thought…I thought you didn't like foxes either," Judy said. "You didn't sound very happy when you said a fox was joining the Scouts…"

"I was still thinking about what Gideon did to you, I guess," Peter replied. "But you said this other fox is the one who bandaged your cut?"

"Yep!" Judy nodded. "His name is Nick and he's so nice to me. And I want to be his friend because most of the other bunnies are scared of him, so they won't play with him. It makes me sad."

"Yeah, me too," Peter agreed. "Just be glad you weren't there to hear what the kits' parents had to say about the whole thing."

Judy, who had been looking at the ground as she walked, suddenly glanced up and noticed Stu walking back towards them. He was most likely coming back from farm work to eat breakfast, which meant he was going to be hearing some potentially shocking news from Bonnie in a few minutes.

"Hey, kits!" Stu exclaimed happily. "Jude, what are you doing up so early?"

"Um…it's kind of a long story," Judy replied vaguely. "I think Mom wants to tell you something…"

Stu looked noticeably confused, but didn't seem suspicious yet. Not that it meant anything, of course, because Judy knew his attitude could change completely if he found out that a fox was involved.

" _Please, please don't tell me I can't see Nick anymore,"_ she thought. _"I know I have other friends, but that poor fox is all alone and I don't want him to be sad anymore…"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of this one? It's a bit different than the first two chapters, and I'd like to know your thoughts. Thanks for reading!
> 
> And yes, I will try to post Chapter 4 before 2021...but no guarantees!


	4. The Parents' Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes! I have been up for HOURS. I didn't sleep at all last night; I spent most of the morning writing this chapter which somehow ended up longer than any of my previous three chapters. I'm also starting to get excited about the possibilities of this story, which could mean more frequent updates from now on. (it could also mean absolutely nothing, so don't get your hopes up).
> 
> I wrote this between 1:00 and 6:00 AM so it might not be the best. I proofread it a few times and it seemed ok, so I decided to go ahead and upload it now.
> 
> Alright, enjoy the chapter!

"They've been in there for an awfully long time," Chloe remarked, stepping out onto the porch. "Tried to listen at the door, but I couldn't hear anything. I don't know if quiet is a good sign or not."

"Well, at least it means Dad isn't screaming," Peter pointed out.

"True," Chloe agreed. "That has to be a good sign, right?"

Judy didn't say anything; she was still too nervous. After she returned to the burrow with Stu, Bonnie had immediately dragged him to the bedroom to discuss 'something important' as she put it. Of course, Judy knew they were talking about her, and the fact that she had not only made friends with a fox but had kept it a secret.

There was no way to know how the talk would go. Judy knew that her father didn't particularly like foxes, especially after what happened with Gideon, and her mother was already upset that she had been keeping secrets. It was hard to imagine the talk would bring about positive results for Judy, but she kept hoping.

Meanwhile, her siblings Peter and Chloe had decided to join her on the front porch, where she had retreated to be alone with her thoughts. She wasn't mad at them for following her, though. It actually made her feel a little bit better to know that even just two of her two hundred and seventy five siblings supported her.

"Personally, I don't see what Dad's problem is with foxes," Chloe said. "I've always thought they were cool. Except for Gideon, of course. Hey, you should have brought me with you to the Scouts' meeting; I would have had some _things_ to say to those bunnies…"

"You probably would have gotten in trouble too," Peter replied. "Besides, they weren't going to listen anyway. It's honestly…kind of sad. It felt like most of those kits really didn't think they'd done anything wrong. A few of them looked embarrassed when I yelled at them, so they were probably just going along with it, but still…it's not right."

"Good for you, standing up for him!" Chloe said enthusiastically, patting her sister on the shoulder.

Judy couldn't tell if Chloe was trying to cheer her up, or if she was just being Chloe. She was a bit of an eccentric rabbit sometimes.

Just then, the front door opened and Bonnie stepped outside, causing Judy's heart rate to triple. Peter and Chloe became quiet all of a sudden, both waiting to see what would happen next.

"Alright, Judy," Bonnie sighed. "Your father and I need to talk to you for a minute."

Then, noticing the other two, she added, "Peter? Chloe? What are you two doing out here?"

"Oh, just enjoying the sunshine," Chloe answered, taking a deep breath as if to breathe in the fresh air. "It's a nice day."

Bonnie's expression made it clear she wasn't buying it, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she turned back and started inside the house.

"Coming, Judy?" she asked.

"Yes, Mom," Judy replied, feeling more anxious with every second as she stood up to follow her mother back inside the burrow.

"Good luck," Chloe whispered in Judy's ear as she passed by.

" _I'll need it; that's for sure,"_ Judy thought.

No one said a word as Bonnie led Judy down the hall to the master bedroom. Or, rather, neither of _them_ said a word. Several of the other bunnies were running through the burrow and acting crazy, but Bonnie ignored them. As a rabbit mother, she was used to chaos.

Finally, they reached the master bedroom. Bonnie opened the door, entered the room with Judy behind her, then closed it. Stu had been pacing, but suddenly stopped when the others arrived.

"Alright, sit down on the bed," Bonnie said.

Without replying, Judy did as she was told and took her seat on the edge of her parents' bed. Stu walked around and stood next to his wife, looking as flustered as ever. These kinds of confrontations were pretty far outside his comfort zone, and it was clear he was waiting for Bonnie to speak first.

"So, I've talked with your father," she began, "and we've decided not to punish you this time."

" _But_ ," Stu interjected, "there can't be any more secrets from now on, or there _will_ be consequences."

"I want you to know, Judy, we aren't mad at you," Bonnie added. "But we _are_ surprised. Keeping secrets like that? I wouldn't be surprised if we found out Chloe was keeping something from us; as a matter of fact, I'd be more surprised if Chloe _wasn't_ hiding anything, but… _you_?"

"You never hide anything from us, Jude," Stu continued. "I can't remember you ever lying to us before."

"I didn't really _lie_ …" Judy said quietly.

"Don't you start that with me, young doe," Bonnie warned. "Even if you didn't lie, you still withheld information from us on purpose."

A moment of silence passed over the room. Judy felt ashamed, even though she'd had what seemed like a good reason to keep her encounters with Nick secret. Though, there was still one question on the young bunny's mind, one that she was scared to ask.

Working up her courage, she nervously asked, "Can I still be friends with Nick, though? He's really nice and I know he would never hurt me! And he's really lonely because none of the other bunnies will go near him—"

"Slow down, Judy," Bonnie interrupted. "Your father and I talked it over and we've decided…"

She paused, glancing nervously at Stu. Judy guessed there must have been some disagreement between the two regarding their decision.

"We're going to contact Nick's parents and hopefully meet them in person," Bonnie explained. "I know you've said Nick is a nice kit, and it's not that we don't believe you, but…we're your parents, and we have to make sure there's nothing to be concerned about."

"That's right," Stu agreed. "I'm not really too thrilled about meeting with foxes, _but_ ," he added quickly, as Bonnie was giving him a look, "since this Nick helped my daughter when she was hurt, I figure we should give him a chance."

Judy sighed with relief. She hadn't expected the talk would go over this well, and was glad to hear that her father didn't necessarily disapprove of her friendship with Nick. She only hoped Stu would give Nick enough of a chance to prove he was a good mammal, because there was no doubt in Judy's mind.

" _He was so much nicer to me than I deserved,"_ she recalled. _"I had no reason to be scared of him, but he didn't blame me for it. And he put my safety ahead of his own when he stood up to Gideon. I hope Dad will be able to see all that, and not just overlook it because Nick is a fox. That would be so unfair…"_

"So…when do I get to see Nick again?" Judy pressed.

Bonnie and Stu shared another nervous glance.

"I was thinking of…inviting his family over," Bonnie replied; judging from Stu's expression, the idea clearly freaked him out, but he wasn't going to argue with his wife about it. "Your father and I have always tried our best to get to know all your friends' parents, though with so many kits it gets a little difficult sometimes. I figured it shouldn't be any different just because…well, you know. If you're going to be friends with Nick, then we need to meet him and his family too."

"But it _is_ the first time we've ever invited foxes into the burrow," Stu pointed out.

Bonnie sighed.

"And _please_ don't use that as a conversation starter when they come over," she said. "This is going to be awkward enough without bringing up our families' prejudice against foxes. On _no_ account do I want them to meet _my_ _father_ … Anyway, that's all we wanted to talk to you about, Judy. Just promise us you won't keep secrets like this anymore."

"I promise," Judy replied.

"Alright," Bonnie said. "You can go now. I'm going to have to talk to the rest of your siblings soon; I don't want them making us look bad when Nick's family comes over."

Feeling a little energetic and very relieved, Judy got up from the bed and hurried back out of her parents' room, running straight into her brother James and sending them both tumbling to the floor.

"Judy!" James complained, pushing his sister off of him and getting to his feet.

"Sorry, James!" Judy apologized, standing up as well. "Why were _you_ in such a hurry, anyway?"

"I overheard Peter and Chloe talking about you," James explained. "They said you made friends with a fox?"

"That's right," Judy confirmed. "His name's Nick and I met him at the Carrot Days festival."

"But…why would you want to be friends with a _fox_?" James inquired, looking thoroughly disturbed. "They're _dangerous_!"

"Nick is _not_ dangerous!" Judy replied angrily. "He's my friend and I don't care what you think about him!"

With that, she stormed off down the hall towards the kitchen and living room. James was the same age as Judy: nine years old, but in Judy's opinion he was _far_ more immature.

" _Do I even have a right to be mad at him?"_ she wondered. _"I was afraid of Nick, too. James hasn't had a chance to meet him yet, to change his mind. If I hadn't met Nick, I might still think all foxes were dangerous too."_

Judy was glad she had met Nick. She was glad they had become friends. In just a short time, he had changed so much about how she looked at the world around her, and she was grateful for that. No one had ever been as kind and understanding to her as he was. Even though he hadn't known her, he had still gone out of his way to help her.

"Hey, Judy!" Chloe exclaimed, interrupting Judy's thoughts as she arrived in the kitchen. "What happened in there?"

"James is annoying me!" Judy answered. "Oh, yeah, everything went fine with Mom and Dad though. Mom says they're going to invite Nick's family over sometime soon."

"Really?" Chloe inquired. "Dad agreed to that? I bet it was Mom's idea… Great, though! I can't wait to meet Nick; he sounds really cool."

"What?!" James exclaimed, entering the room behind Judy. "Did you say the fox is coming _here_?!"

"Yes, she said that, you little brat," Chloe replied. "Chill out."

"But—" James protested.

"James!" Bonnie called from the hallway; she and Stu were both hurrying towards them. "Chloe!"

She stopped when she reached the kitchen, giving both James and Chloe displeased looks. Judy slowly backed away, not wanting to be part of any more conflicts.

" _Mom_!" James whined. "Judy says that—"

"Yes, I know," Bonnie replied. "Your sister has a new friend and your father and I would like to meet him and his parents. If you don't like that, feel free to stay in your room when they come over. But this is about Judy, and it's not your place to argue about it."

"As for _you_ ," she continued, turning to Chloe, "you're two years older, so no more behaving like a toddler. You're old enough now to handle your younger siblings without sinking to their level. Now, if you'll excuse me, your father and I have to go inform the rest of the burrow about Nick's family coming over. And if I hear any more screaming from _any_ of you…"

Bonnie didn't finish, but the message was received. Judy, James, and Chloe were all completely silent until Bonnie and Stu left the room. Then, James ran off towards his room without another word.

"Well," Peter said, entering the kitchen to join his sisters, "it sounds like everything worked out, right?"

Judy nodded, but didn't say anything. She was still thinking about the coming day when Nick and his family would come over.

" _What will Mom and Dad think of Nick and his parents?"_ she wondered. _"What will Nick's family think of me? Do they feel the same way about bunnies that my parents do about foxes? What will the rest of my siblings think? They had better not be mean to him! I hope Nick won't be nervous about coming over…"_

But all of that would have to wait. There was nothing more to be done today.

* * *

"Nicholas?"

Nick looked up at his mother, who had just gotten off the phone. He hadn't been paying attention to what she was talking about; he was busy telling his little brother all about Judy.

" _Why is it I can't stop thinking about her?"_ Nick wondered. _"Ever since last night…no one has ever stood up for me like that. Certainly no other bunny has been that nice to me."_

Last night should have been a terrible memory, considering he had been knocked down and muzzled, and no longer wanted anything to do with the Scouts anymore. But yet, it was a _happy_ memory, and it was all because of Judy.

"What?" Nick replied, though he wasn't really that interested in whatever his mom wanted to talk to him about; he was busy thinking about Judy.

"I just got off the phone with Judy's mom," Mrs. Wilde said. "She's invited us all over."

" _WHAT_?!" Nick exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think? I hope I didn't get too distracted writing about Judy's siblings, because those parts were so fun to write! :)
> 
> Let me know what you think. In the mean time, I need to get some sleep before my brain explodes. See you all next chapter!


	5. Foxes in the Burrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY it took me this long to update this story. After the two week gap between chapters 2 and 3 I thought there wouldn't be any more delays like that, but...I was wrong.
> 
> I was feeling really good when I posted Chapter 4. I had been at an all-night event with some friends at our church and instead of sleeping, I found an empty room and stayed up for hours writing fanfiction. I mean, what could be better than that, after all?
> 
> Well, pretty soon after that, things started to go off the rails for me. A few days after posting Chapter 4, I started to get really nostalgic about the house where I grew up (we moved a year and a half ago, but I had lived there for my whole life until then) and my emotions went out of control. I started remembering things I used to do in that house that I'd forgotten about, and that would just make me more sad that it was over.
> 
> Eventually, we found out that my emotions were out of control because of some allergy medicine I'd been taking since last summer. That also explains why I was so distressed about recovering those files on my sister's phone which caused my absence between the second and third chapters. Unfortunately, the withdrawal symptoms when I stopped the medicine were fifty times worse than when I was taking it, and for about a week, I was truly an emotionally unbalanced bunny. I would be crying uncontrollably one moment, and the next I'd be excited about the future and perfectly content. Even reminding myself that it was all caused by medicine and would eventually go away didn't stop the moods.
> 
> Thankfully, the symptoms have been subsiding in recent weeks. I'll still have episodes here and there, but I don't feel just utterly hopeless like I did for most of that first week. I'm still recovering and it could be a while before I'm completely back to normal, but this weekend was the first time I felt good enough to sit down and get back to writing this story. I know I said this last time, but I'm really looking forward to the rest of the story and hopefully I can update more regularly from now on. (fingers crossed!)
> 
> I'd like to thank writer Zephyr Fyrian for supporting me through all of this upheaval. You are truly the best sister (and friend) I could ever ask for. Sometimes I honestly don't know what I'd do without you.
> 
> I also need to thank my parents, a friend of mine who'd previously had trouble with the same medicine, and last but not least, all of my readers. You have all been so positive throughout everything and I want you to know it was not unappreciated. It's because of everyone cheering me on that I was able to get through this.
> 
> Wow, I really blathered a lot. Sorry about that; I just like to keep all of you more or less up-to-date on my life. I always enjoyed reading fanfics where authors did that, so...yeah, I don't really have anything else to say. I'm super tired. I'll shut up and let you read the chapter now.

When the day of the visit arrived, Nick woke up to find himself feeling excited, while also nervous at the same time. He was looking forward to seeing Judy again, but he didn't know what to expect about the rest of her family. After all, Judy was the first rabbit Nick had met who actually made an effort to be his friend. Would the rest of her family be like her, or would they be more like most other rabbits?

" _Mom_ ," Nick moaned, "are we gonna go soon?"

"Yes, Nicholas," his mother said, sighing. "I've told you five times already; we have to wait for your father."

Nick groaned again and starting banging his head against the wall. His younger brother, Brendan, was currently running around the living room energetically, unable to contain his enthusiasm. Though, to be fair, this was probably because Nick had spent the last several days telling him all about Judy and how amazing she was.

"I can't _wait_ to see all the bunnies!" Brendan said happily. "Does Judy really have _purple_ eyes? I've never seen anyone with purple eyes before!"

" _Yes_ , she has purple eyes," Nick replied dully; while he was equally fascinated with Judy's unusual eye color, he was getting a little tired of answering the same questions over and over. "Mom, why is Dad taking so _long_ —"

"Alright, I'm ready!" Mr. Wilde announced cheerfully, entering the room wearing a suit and tie. "Let's go!"

Mrs. Wilde sighed.

"John, do you really need to dress up so much?" she asked. "It's not like we're going to a wedding or something."

John frowned, looking like a disappointed child. He almost always dressed formal like this, even if it was just for a casual event. It wasn't because he wanted to seem important or anything; he just liked dressing nice.

"I just want to make a good impression," he said.

"I'm not complaining," Mrs. Wilde replied. "I'm just saying you don't _have_ to dress up. No one's giving you a grade for this."

Nick was barely paying attention to the conversation, since he was anxious to see Judy again, but the clothes discussion reminded him of something. Back in the city, his father had seemed to stress a lot about making a good impression at business meetings and such, and part of that was always dressing formally. Nick supposed it was because foxes were always viewed with suspicion by default, and so John had to take extra care to avoid being seen that way. Now that Nick thought about it, it made him feel a little sad.

" _Maybe that's why he's worried about it now,"_ Nick thought. _"Even Judy was nervous about me at first, and she's unusual for a rabbit. What will the rest of her family think of me? Of all of us?"_

"Well, I guess we'd better go," Mrs. Wilde said. "We'll definitely make a bad impression if we don't show up on time."

"Yay!" Brendan exclaimed, jumping up and down like a bunny.

" _Finally_ ," Nick said.

John and his wife, May, made their way to the front door, the kits following closely behind them. Brendan was still bouncing around excitedly, while Nick walked calmly and kept his enthusiasm to himself. Yes, he was looking forward to seeing Judy again, but a part of him was still nervous about what her family would think of them, so he didn't really know what to feel.

Nick stepped out onto the porch and was met by a pleasant cool breeze as he followed his family to the car. He didn't say a word as he got in his seat and put his seat belt on. Over in the other seat, May was having trouble getting Brendan to sit still so she could buckle him in.

" _Surely the bunnies will get along with him,"_ Nick thought. _"All that jumping around, he practically_ is _one."_

Soon enough, Brendan was buckled up and May went to take her seat in the front. John turned on his GPS and then pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.

"Do you really need the GPS?" May inquired. "We've driven by the Hopps' farm several times; it's not that far from here."

"Well, I just want to make sure we go to the right place!" John replied. "We've never been there before. I don't want to drive past by accident."

"Ok, then," May said, shaking her head but smiling.

John had a tendency to be a little eccentric at times, but May had pretty much gotten used to it by now. From what Nick could tell, they joked around a lot but usually got along really well.

While his parents continued talking, and Brendan was bouncing around in his seat, Nick looked out the window at the countryside and tried to relax. He figured it wouldn't be long before they arrived at the Hopps' family farm, as his mother had said it was less than twenty minutes away, so he tried not to feel anxious at the thought of seeing Judy and her family very soon.

" _Judy's mom invited us over, so that must be a good sign, right?"_ Nick thought optimistically. _"If they hated foxes, then they probably wouldn't have invited us."_

He tried not to worry too much about the visit, but it was hard not to. Judy was the only real friend he had in Bunnyburrow so far, and the thought of anything disturbing that friendship scared him. He knew he was incredibly lucky to have met a rabbit like Judy, and didn't want to count on finding another like her.

" _Maybe Bunnyburrow wouldn't be such a bad place to live, if I have Judy to talk to…"_ he thought wistfully.

Nick thought back to when his parents had first announced the move. He had been passionately against the idea; he had pleaded with them not to make him move and had cried himself to sleep that night. Of course, John and May didn't want to leave Zootopia either, but there was nothing to be done about it. After being laid off from his last job, John had gone through several months of unemployment before he was hired at a new job in Bunnyburrow.

Needless to say, as hard as it was for a fox to find decent employment, there was no question that John would accept the job. It didn't pay a lot, but it was preferable to unemployment. Still, Nick had never liked the idea of moving to a town populated by rabbits, the most likely species to distrust foxes. Before the move, he had met a few other rabbits his age, and he never liked how noticeably afraid of him they were. That was several years ago, and it was the first time he'd felt self-conscious about being a predator. He didn't like that feeling, and he knew that being in a town filled with bunnies—a fox's natural prey—would only make it worse.

But then Judy had come along. Nick recalled how he'd felt when he first noticed Gideon bullying her. It had made him so _angry_ , seeing a predator using their strength to take advantage of weaker prey. By the time he confronted Gideon, he had already stopped thinking rationally. All he knew was that a bunny was being hurt and she had no way to defend herself, so he decided to defend her himself.

Nick was still quite proud of that decision. In a way, it seemed to validate all of the qualities he'd pledged to uphold in the Scouts' meeting.

" _I'm never going back there,"_ he thought. _"I don't need to make friends there anyway. I have a friend, and she's a better friend than any of_ them _ever could be."_

Nick looked up and saw that, to his surprise, they were already pulling into the Hopps' driveway. In the midst of his introspection, he'd lost track of time. But sure enough, they had arrived at their destination, and there was no delaying the inevitable any longer. Whatever happened would happen soon.

"Alright, let's go meet them!" John said enthusiastically, parking the car and getting out.

"Hold on; I still have to get Brendan out of his—" May started, then noticed that Brendan had already figured out how to unbuckle himself.

" _I don't think he's even a_ little _nervous,"_ Nick realized. _"I don't think he really understands the whole predator/prey thing yet. He seemed really confused when I told him about getting muzzled…"_

Brendan was only six, three years younger than Nick, so it made sense that he would be oblivious to things like that. Nick couldn't help but envy him a little; life would be so much easier if he could just ignore all the bad things and make them go away.

But life wasn't like that. That was something Nick was beginning to learn, something he would come to learn more and more every day.

John led the way up to the porch, May following beside him. Nick was slowly walking up behind them, while Brendan rushed past all three of them and hurried up to the door.

"Go ahead and knock, Brendan," May said.

" _I_ get to knock?" Brendan replied excitedly. "Yay!"

John laughed and May smiled. Nick, meanwhile, was still playing out scenarios in his head. Would the visit go well? Would everyone get along? As worried as he was for himself, Nick also worried about his little brother. He did not want Brendan to have to experience the prejudice against foxes, to feel embarrassed or even ashamed because of what he was. Maybe that was impossible to avoid, living in Bunnyburrow, but Nick would do his best to shield his brother as much as he could.

By the time Nick joined the rest of his family on the porch, Brendan had already knocked on the door about twenty-seven times and May was trying to calm him down.

"Alright," she said, gently pulling her younger son's paw away from the door, "now let's wait a little while and see if they come to the door."

Brendan looked a little disappointed, but he was still smiling. He stepped back from the door and the four foxes waited several seconds. Soon enough, the door opened to reveal a rabbit doe with purple eyes similar to Judy's, except hers were less vibrant. For the briefest moment, there was a flicker of uncertainty on the rabbit's face, but it disappeared almost as soon as it had come.

"Mr. and Mrs. Wilde?" she inquired.

"That would be us!" John confirmed.

"Nice to meet you," the rabbit said, smiling as she reached her paw out. "I'm Bonnie Hopps. Sorry about the driveway; it always confuses the delivery people."

Both John and May laughed at this, then each shook Bonnie's paw and introduced themselves.

"Alright, come on in," Bonnie said, stepping back inside the house and holding the door open. "My husband's waiting in the kitchen."

John and May followed her into the house, Nick and Brendan walking behind them. The two older foxes had to bend over slightly to step through the doorway, but luckily the ceiling inside was just tall enough that they could walk without crouching over. Since Nick and Brendan were still small kits, they didn't have any trouble fitting inside.

"Hey, are they here?!" shouted a familiar, excited voice from somewhere in the burrow.

Judy came running and almost slammed right into her mother as the group was rounding a corner. As soon as she saw Nick and the other foxes, her face lit up and she waved at them.

"Hi!" the bunny kit said cheerily. "You must be Nick's family! I'm Judy!"

"Hi, Judy!" Brendan replied with equal enthusiasm. "My brother told me _so_ much about you! He said you were really nice and the best bunny in the world and you have purple eyes!"

Nick suddenly felt very embarrassed and wished he could have left the room. Sure, he had said a lot about Judy to his brother, but he was pretty sure the phrase 'best bunny in the world' was Brendan's own doing. Still, when Judy turned to face Nick, he felt like he was shrinking into the floor.

"Well, that was very kind of you, Nick," Judy said; was it just Nick's imagination or did she look a little embarrassed too?

"How about we go to the kitchen?" Bonnie suggested. "My husband's making some coffee, if you'd like some…"

"Excellent!" John said eagerly. "I always enjoy a good cup of coffee!"

"You don't have to be so dramatic about it," May replied jokingly, as Bonnie led them down the hall towards the kitchen.

As they walked, Nick couldn't help but feel impressed by the Hopps' residence. There were so many hallways branching off from each other that he didn't know how anyone could ever remember how to find their way around. It made sense, with the amount of kits that lived here, but it was still pretty amazing to see it in person.

"Do you like our house?" Judy asked, chuckling slightly; apparently she had noticed Nick staring.

"U-um…yeah, it's really cool," Nick replied, caught off guard by the question.

"I love it!" Brendan said, jumping up and down happily. "It's such a fun place! I want to stay here forever!"

Nick and Judy both laughed.

"I'm glad you both like it here," Judy said. "Today is going to be so much fun! I hope my brothers and sisters don't bother us too much. James is _so_ annoying."

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Nick asked. He remembered his mother telling him that the Hopps family had a lot of kits, but he couldn't remember how many.

"Two hundred and seventy five!" Judy answered. "Sometimes it's hard to remember everyone's name."

"Wow…" Nick said, speechless. "I guess it probably gets loud?"

"It's _always_ loud!" Judy laughed. "I share my room with about twenty or so of my siblings, and sometimes it's too crazy in there to think, so I like to go outside. There's a lot of cool places I like to go on the farm. Maybe I can show you some today if my mom lets us go outside!"

"I-I'd love to see them," Nick replied.

" _Why did I get nervous just now?"_ he wondered. _"I shouldn't be nervous about Judy; I already know she's nice. I guess I should be nervous about meeting the rest of her family, but not about talking to her…"_

Just then, they entered the kitchen, where a male rabbit wearing a cap was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, jumping when he saw the new arrivals. "Uh—um—I—"

Bonnie sighed, putting a paw to her forehead as if embarrassed.

"This is my husband, Stu," she said.

"Um…yeah, nice to meet you!" Stu said quickly, setting his coffee mug down on the table before hurrying over to shake paws with Nick's parents.

Unlike Bonnie, who had only seemed nervous for a split-second when she'd first seen the Wildes, Stu was very obviously uncomfortable. He was polite, but it was clear that he was still a little apprehensive of foxes. Nick noticed how the buck kept nervously eyeing his parents' claws when they shook.

"Alright, have a seat," Bonnie said politely, probably trying to diffuse the tension from Stu's awkward introduction. "I think the coffee's done."

"Hey, Mom?" Judy spoke up.

"Yes, dear?"

"Can we go play outside? I don't want to play in my room because James is always in there being crazy."

"As long as it's ok with Nick's parents," Bonnie replied.

"Of course," May said, pleased to see the kits were getting along so well. "Just don't wander off, ok? Make sure we can still see you from the house."

"Ok," Judy agreed. "Come on, Nick, let's go!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what did you think of the chapter? I apologize for ending it so abruptly; I didn't initially plan that, but I thought it was an ok stopping point and I really wanted to upload something as soon as possible. Don't worry, the next one will pick up where this one left off.
> 
> I hope to upload again soon. Things are looking up!
> 
> P.S.: If everything goes well, I may actually be moving back into my old house someday! I realize you're probably tired of hearing me go on and on about my troubles, but I felt like saying that, so there you go!


	6. Accidents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, my chapters keep getting longer! How did that happen? XD
> 
> I'm currently sick and have been for about half a week now. It's getting better every day though, and it seems like it'll be over soon, but I can't say for sure. However, despite being sick, my mood has actually improved a lot more this week, and I'm starting to feel more like myself again. It's really weird what some medicines can do to your mental and emotional state; thank goodness I stopped taking that stuff. And I'm taking a different allergy medicine which seems to work well without causing me to lose my mind.
> 
> A few days ago when I was still sick, I had a burst of creative energy. I guess it helps that I haven't been required to do much in the last few days, so I've just been sitting around being lazy. But, even in my medicine induced haze (drowsy kind, not the stuff that depressed me), I somehow managed to write this whole chapter in a day. I can't really explain what happened; I hadn't been expecting to get so much done, but when I got out my laptop and started writing, the words just came pouring out. It's a rare occasion when the story I write matches so perfectly with the story in my head, but this time it did. I don't know if that means it's good or not, but it is what I intended for it to be.
> 
> Additionally, this chapter has quite a bit of dialogue, which is always the easiest and most natural part to write, at least for me.
> 
> Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading for me again!
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Judy inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, then took off running across the farm. Glancing over to see Nick running alongside her, she couldn't help but smile. Nick seemed happy too, though he had been very quiet ever since they came outside.

Finally, Judy stopped and sat down under the shade of a tall tree, and Nick did the same.

"So…?" she inquired. "Do you like it here?"

"It's…amazing," Nick replied, his eyes still wide as he scanned his surroundings. "How…how much of this is your family's?"

"A _lot_ ," Judy answered simply. "It goes on so far that we're usually not allowed to go wandering around without someone older. We grow a lot of stuff; it's mostly carrots, but we also have tomatoes, blueberries—"

"Blueberries?!" Nick exclaimed, his face lighting up.

"Mm-hmm," Judy confirmed. "Do you like blueberries?"

"Yes, they're my favorite!" Nick replied.

"But—" Judy started, then stopped.

"What is it?" Nick pressed. "Is something wrong?"

"I…no, I'm just being a dumb bunny," Judy said, her ears drooping.

"You're not a dumb bunny," Nick replied, gently placing a paw on her shoulder. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I was just curious…"

"I was going to ask you a question, but I realized it might sound rude and I didn't want to hurt your feelings," Judy confessed.

"Oh…" Nick said. "Well…I don't know what you were going to ask, but…well, we're friends, so you can ask me whatever you want to."

"Ok…um…" Judy started nervously. "I was…um…I wanted to know…no, it's really stupid of me, but I didn't know that predators ate blueberries."

As soon as she said it, she felt even more ashamed. She turned to face the ground, not wanting to see Nick's expression. To her surprise, he didn't take his paw off her shoulder.

"It's ok; you wouldn't know because you probably haven't met that many foxes," Nick explained, "but we're omnivores."

"Really?" Judy replied curiously, looking up at him. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I know you don't eat other mammals or anything! I'm not _that_ stupid! But I thought you ate, like, fish or bugs or something like that… I'm sorry, I should just shut up."

"No, it's not your fault you don't know," Nick said. "And yeah, we do eat fish and insects like other predators, but we can eat plants too. Blueberries, for example. And…you don't need to feel bad about asking me anything. I really don't mind. I just…well, I don't want to gross you out talking about what I eat."

Judy chuckled.

"It's fine," she assured him. "I mean, I wouldn't want to eat them myself…I do like blueberries, though! Hey, if you want some, I can see if my parents will let us go pick some. Chloe is always sneaking them when she thinks we're not looking."

"Sneaky…maybe she should have been born a fox, then," Nick laughed.

"Don't you hate that stereotype, though?" Judy asked, her mind going back to what happened at the Scouts' meeting.

"Yeah, I don't like that other mammals think we're not trustworthy," Nick admitted, "but sometimes it's easier for me to deal with things like that if I can joke about them. Makes them seem less…overwhelming, you know?"

"I guess I can see what you mean," Judy agreed. "I just…I hope you don't believe what those awful kits said about you, that's all."

"No, never!" Nick clarified. "But…I won't let anyone like that see that they get to me. Not anymore."

Judy placed her own paw on Nick's and squeezed it gently.

"I'm glad, Nick," she said. "Just…so long as you don't give up, not for anything. Always keep going."

"I'm not sure I could ever be as good as you are at that," Nick replied, "but I'll try my best."

"You'll do great!" Judy said optimistically. "And if you ever need someone to cheer you up and help you keep going, I'm always here!"

"Same here," Nick said. "I'll…I'll protect you, if you need me to. Not that I think you're helpless or anything!"

"Hey, everyone needs someone to protect them every now and then, right?" Judy replied. "And since you're a predator, maybe you can scare James off when he's bothering me! Oops…sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"

"No…you're fine," Nick said, though from his expression he was more upset than he was letting on. "I…I don't like it when other mammals are scared of me, but if your brother is being mean to you or something…"

"He's just an annoying brat, but I can handle him," Judy said. "I was just joking, really, but…I'm sorry. Do you still want to pick blueberries, though?"

"Yeah, as long as your parents are ok with it," Nick agreed.

"I don't think they'll mind; they let us pick them all the time," Judy explained. "But just to be safe, I'll go ask first. Come on!"

With that, she jumped up and took off running back across the yard, Nick following closely behind her. Both feeling energetic, they opened the door and hurried inside, where Brendan was playing with Judy's little sister Mallory.

" _Aww, they're getting along so well!"_ Judy thought happily. _"I should have known if any of my little brothers or sisters wouldn't be too afraid of him, it would be Mallory! She's a lot like me…"_

"Hiya, Judy!" Mallory said enthusiastically. "This is my new friend Brendan and he's a fox!"

"I see that," Judy replied, smiling. "I have a friend who's a fox too; his name is Nick!"

Mallory turned to look up at Nick, and her eyes grew wide.

"Your eyes are _so_ green!" she exclaimed with delight.

Judy took another glance at Nick's vibrant green eyes. For some reason, she thought it was adorable that someone who looked so nervous and innocent could have such ferocious looking eyes. Taking a look at Brendan, she saw that his eyes were kind of a golden brown color, softer and less intimidating.

"Um…I guess they are," Nick agreed.

" _He is so cute when he's nervous!"_ Judy thought. _"Wait, why did I just think that?"_

"—so fresh and clean out here," Nick's mother was saying in the kitchen. "And there's so much space, too. Back in the city, I didn't like to let the kits play outside because those alleys were so filthy."

"Do you think you'd stay here or move back, if you had the choice?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Mrs. Wilde answered. "There was a lot we liked about being in the city, especially Nick. I know he misses his friends in Zootopia, but I'm glad he's found a new friend in Judy."

"Hey, Mom! Dad!" Judy called from the living room. "Can I show Nick the blueberries and pick some? We won't wander off, I promise!"

"Yes, just don't pick all of them!" Bonnie replied.

"Oh, well now Nick's never going to want to leave," Mrs. Wilde laughed. "He _loves_ blueberries."

"So does our daughter, Chloe," Bonnie sighed. "I can't tell you how many times I've found a stash of them in her room…"

Without any more deliberation, Judy grabbed Nick's paw and hurried back outside. Mallory and Brendan waved at them, smiling brightly, as the two older kits stepped outside and sprinted across the yard.

"Judy, wait up!" Nick shouted, struggling to keep up with the bunny as she pulled him along behind her.

It happened in an instant. Running to keep up with Judy, Nick took a wrong step and tripped. Instinctively, he grasped Judy's paw as tightly as he could, to keep himself from falling. Judy, still running towards the blueberries, unknowingly pulled away and caused Nick to lose his grip, sending him tumbling into the grass.

Judy gasped and stopped suddenly, feeling a sharp pain on her wrist and paw. Ignoring it, she hurried back to make sure Nick was ok. He looked a little dazed, lying in the grass, but he didn't seem to be injured.

"Nick, I'm sorry!" Judy apologized. "I should have been paying attention; I didn't mean to make you fall over—"

"No, I'm ok," Nick said, sitting up. "Luckily the ground is pretty soft, so it didn't hurt that bad…"

He stopped, his expression changing dramatically. Judy saw where his eyes were pointed and immediately understood.

"J-Judy, you're bleeding!" Nick exclaimed, gently holding her paw in his own and examining it closely. "I…I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I just…I tripped and—"

"Nick, don't be so hard on yourself," Judy said softly. "It's not your—"

"But look at your paw!" Nick insisted. "I know a claw mark when I see one! I must have cut you when I tried to grab onto your paw…"

He closed his eyes tightly, and Judy knew he was trying to hold back tears. At the moment, she wasn't even worried about her injury; all she knew was that she hated to see Nick like this. She knew it wasn't his fault, and she couldn't stand to see him beat himself up over it.

"Nick, please don't cry!" Judy said worriedly. "It was my fault. If I had been paying attention, and hadn't been running so fast..."

Nick opened his eyes, and it broke Judy's heart to see them so filled with tears. Not knowing what else to do, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. As she did, she started to cry as well. Nick was her friend, and she never wanted to see him so hurt. She knew that the cut on her paw was nothing compared to what Nick must have been feeling, knowing he had injured his friend.

"You…aren't mad at me?" Nick remarked, after about a minute had passed.

"Never," Judy said firmly. "You are the nicest friend I've ever had. Please, don't blame yourself for what happened."

"I…don't like to see you hurt..." Nick explained, his voice choked up.

"I don't like to see you hurt either, Nick!" Judy replied. "I don't want to see you like this! Cheese and crackers, you barely hurt me at all, and…and…"

She took a deep breath to calm herself, and then continued.

"All I'm saying is I don't like to see you being so hard on yourself," she explained. "I thought the predator/prey thing didn't bother you anymore. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like you're still…ashamed? And you shouldn't be…"

"But I can't change it!" Nick cried. "Because I'm a predator, I'm always going to be a danger to you, and…I really just want to be your friend."

Another stream of tears came pouring from his eyes, and Judy hugged him even tighter.

"You are _not_ a danger to me, and don't ever say that again," she replied. "I don't know what kinds of horrible things other prey have said to you, but none of it's true. I understand being upset because of how you were treated, but you should _not_ be ashamed of yourself just because you're a predator. You should _never_ have to apologize to _anyone_ for what you are. Do you understand?"

Eyes still filled with tears, Nick nodded, then put his arms around her as well and embraced her. Both of them remained that way for several minutes, neither one of them speaking a word, until Nick finally pulled away.

"Thank you, Judy," he said, wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"No problem," Judy replied. "And if we're being completely honest, I don't know why you wouldn't like being a fox. I wish _my_ fur was that bright!"

Nick smiled nervously, and Judy realized he must have been feeling self-conscious at being given a compliment like that.

" _I guess maybe other species don't usually compliment his appearance?"_ she wondered. _"That's hard to understand. Foxes are so incredible! Ok, I'm not really sure where_ that _thought came from all of a sudden…"_

"Oh!" Nick exclaimed suddenly. "Sorry, I just remembered I still have my first aid kit in my backpack. I left it back at your house, but I can go get it and bandage up that cut."

"Oh, thank you," Judy said. "That's really nice of you, Nick! But…maybe I should wait out here for you to get back…"

"How come?" Nick asked.

"Um…I don't want anyone to find out what happened," Judy explained. "It was my fault, and I don't want anyone else to blame you for it."

"Oh," Nick said, his expression becoming serious again. "Do you think…would your parents be mad at me if they found out?"

"I…I don't know for sure," Judy admitted. "Dad would probably be upset. He was really mad when he found out about Gideon. I know that was different, but…I'm still worried."

"Ok; wait right here, then," Nick said. "If they ask, I'll just say I'm using the backpack to carry blueberries."

"Oh, right, the blueberries!" Judy remembered. "I promise; right after you put my bandage on, we're going to pick blueberries!"

"I'll be right back," Nick promised.

* * *

Some time later, Nick and Judy came back inside after they were done picking blueberries. Brendan and Mallory were still in the living room, but Peter and Chloe had joined them too.

"Wow, you sure were out there a long time," Chloe remarked.

"What can I say?" Nick shrugged. "I like blueberries."

"I see you're a mammal of excellent taste," Chloe replied. "We always need more of those around here."

"Hey, Nick?" Peter said.

"Huh?" Nick replied uncertainly.

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the Scouts' meeting," Peter explained. "I knew it was a bad idea to let those kits do initiation on their own. They're too immature."

"Well…thank you, but it's not your fault," Nick replied. "I heard you got in trouble for yelling at them, though."

"Yeah," Peter confirmed. "And I don't regret it either. I tried to talk some sense into their parents too, but they were somehow even more irritating. They're adults; they should know better than to let their kits behave like that. Mom would kill me if I did something like that."

"Judy!" Brendan said, having just noticed the bandage on Judy's paw. "What happened to your paw?"

"It got stuck in some thorns," Judy lied. "A stupid accident, that's all. Luckily, Nick still had his first aid kit, so he fixed it up."

Brendan and Mallory seemed satisfied with this answer, but a glance at Peter and Chloe told Judy that they were a little suspicious. Neither of them pressed the issue further, but Judy was pretty sure that they knew she wasn't telling the whole story.

Just then, there was an explosion of laughter at the kitchen table. Whatever had been said, John and Stu were clearly amused. Bonnie and May were just shaking their heads.

"Seems like they're getting along," Chloe whispered.

"Well, I think we should probably get going now," May said, standing up from the table. "I'm sure Nick and Brendan…and _John…_ don't want to leave yet, but I wouldn't want to overstay our welcome."

"Don't worry about it," Bonnie replied. "It was really nice having you over. If it's ok with you, I think we might have to set up another visit sometime soon."

"I'd like that," May agreed. "I _know_ the kits would."

"I wouldn't mind it either!" John added.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Nick said, looking at Judy. "It was really fun, except for…you know. I hope I'll see you again soon."

"Me too, Nick," Judy replied.

"Alright, Nick! Brendan!" May called from the other room. "Say goodbye to everyone! It's time to go!"

"See you later, Judy," Nick said.

He grabbed his backpack and headed into the kitchen, telling Brendan to come along. He did, though he didn't look very happy about it.

"Bye bye, Brendan!" Mallory said, waving to him.

"Bye bye, Mallory…" Brendan replied, less enthusiastically.

Judy sat down on the couch with Peter and Chloe, as Bonnie and Stu walked out to the door with the Wildes. She knew they would probably stand by the door and talk for a while longer, then walk to the car and keep talking, so it could be a while. At least, that was what Judy expected based on how her parents usually interacted with visitors.

Mallory went running back to her room, leaving Judy alone in the room with Chloe and Peter. As she sat there, she thought back on the events of the day. The visit had gone rather well, aside from the incident outside. It seemed like Bonnie and Stu actually got along with Nick's parents pretty well, which was great news. Especially considering how Stu felt about foxes.

" _They're already planning another visit,"_ Judy thought excitedly. _"That means I'll be able to see Nick again soon!"_

She let out a sigh, relieved that everything had gone well. Things were looking up, and it seemed there was a lot to be excited about. It was just the beginning of a brand new friendship, and Judy was looking forward to all the good times she knew they would have together. Friends like this didn't just show up every day, so it was up to them to hold on to their special bond.

"Well, time to go eat some blueberries," Chloe said, getting up from her seat.

Judy sighed. Some things would never change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it seems like their parents are getting along... Is it too early to know for sure? Guess we'll just have to wait and see!
> 
> I really enjoyed writing this one, so let me know what you think!
> 
> P.S. I didn't know foxes were omnivores either, for the longest time. I think I found out because Zephyr told me.


	7. Changing Seasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, it's been a bit longer than I expected, so I'll go ahead and apologize for that. Most of this chapter has been written for a while now, but I didn't finish it (and have Zephyr Fyrian proofread it) until today. Last weekend was pretty busy, so I didn't get the chance to finish it then. I mean, overall it was a pretty good weekend, so I'm not complaining or anything, but it's still nice when everything calms down and I can work more on my writing.
> 
> My medicine-induced depression seems to have finally subsided, and on top of that, I am no longer sick. (yay!) I want to thank all of my reviewers who supported me through that; it means a lot to me that you took the time to not only review my story, but also to encourage me through all of that as well. Of course, anyone at all who takes the time to leave a review is appreciated, and also very encouraging to me too, so thank you to all of my readers and reviewers! :)
> 
> I also recently realized that I am almost certainly on the autistic spectrum, which is something I've suspected for a while but became clear about a week ago when I noticed how many things seem to overwhelm me more than they would most people. It feels very freeing to me to learn about and understand myself more, so that's put me in a much better mood lately.
> 
> Whew. That took me way too long to type. I guess I should also mention that one of the reasons this chapter took a little longer is because I had to start planning out in more detail where I want to go with the story from here, and I often don't have a very good sense of when to do a time skip and when to keep writing day-to-day stuff. I don't want to end up writing fifteen chapters about something that happened in a single day, but I also don't want to skip past what might be important developmental parts. That's something I could definitely improve on, though I'm feeling pretty optimistic that I'll be able to figure it out the more I write.
> 
> Ok. I promise I'll shut up now and let you read it. Enjoy!

It was another clear, sunny day in Bunnyburrow, and Judy was outside taking a peaceful walk around the farm. There was a lot on her mind, and she needed to get out of the crowded burrow and away from all her loud, screaming siblings, and just relax for a while.

It was one of the many things that a lot of her siblings found strange about her. Sure, all of them wanted time alone every now and then, but none quite as often as Judy. Maybe it was because she was so different from the other rabbits, that she felt misunderstood and out of place sometimes, and that was when she needed to just get away from all the noise and go somewhere to think.

Luckily, there were a lot of places to think on the Hopps' family farm. Today, Judy found herself wandering aimlessly, just letting her mind take her where it wanted to.

And today, her mind seemed determined to focus on one specific mammal: Nick Wilde.

" _I hope he's not still upset about what happened last week,"_ Judy thought, noting how the scratch on her paw was more or less healed now. _"I know he was upset because I got hurt, but why was he crying so much? The cut wasn't even that bad anyway…"_

There were a lot of things about Nick that didn't quite make sense to her. She still didn't understand why he was so uncomfortable about the fact that he was a predator, for instance. In Judy's mind, it seemed that being a predator would make so much of life easier. They were so much stronger and fiercer; it was hard to imagine they could ever feel as powerless as prey.

Yet, Judy had seen Nick being bullied by a group of prey at the Scouts' meeting, simply for being a predator. She tried to recall what she had felt like when she'd first witnessed the incident. It had been…strange. It sounded a little silly, but whenever she thought of predators, she saw them as being in control, in power. To see Nick helpless against that army of bunnies was weirdly disconcerting.

" _I know they outnumbered him, but he didn't even try to fight back at all,"_ Judy thought. _"I know he's brave; he stood up to Gideon who's about twice his size, so why…when they were trying to put that muzzle on him…why would he just lie there on the floor and take it? Maybe I wasn't paying attention; I don't know."_

The more she thought about it, though, the more she came back to what happened at the visit last week, and how Nick had reacted. Was he really _that_ bothered by the thought of hurting prey, even a little bit? He had also said something about not liking when other mammals were afraid of him, but Judy hadn't realized it went so deep. After all, she hadn't felt bad in the slightest about kicking Gideon in the face, even though in retrospect it may have gotten her into more trouble than it was worth.

Eventually, Judy's introspective stroll led her right back to the blueberry bushes, where a certain cream colored bunny was quietly filling up a basket with the berries. Immediately upon Judy's arrival, the older doe spun around to face her younger sister.

"Hi, Chloe," Judy said calmly. "Don't worry; I'm not going to tell anyone you're out here sneaking blueberries again."

Chloe frowned.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" she inquired suspiciously. "Coming to get your own secret supply of berries?"

"Um—" Judy started.

"Here, I have another basket," Chloe said, smiling as she tossed it to Judy. "I don't know how you're going to hide them from James, but I wish you luck!"

"Ok, but that's not actually why I'm here…" Judy replied slowly.

"Huh? It's not?" Chloe asked, still piling blueberries into her own basket. "Well, if you're not here to pick your own, could you fill up that basket for me? Thanks!"

"Ok, sure…I guess?" Judy answered, shrugging.

She didn't really have anything better to do, so she started picking blueberries and filling up Chloe's other basket. It was pretty mindless work, and it gave her mind the chance to wander. Or, rather, it would have, if Chloe had been quiet the whole time.

"I _really_ don't get why James got so upset when the foxes came over and wouldn't even come out of his room," Chloe said. "I mean, even _Dad_ was getting along with them! Besides, doesn't anyone else find it a little boring how there's barely any predators around here? Except for Gideon, but he's kind of annoying, you know? Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure you didn't get that cut on your paw from thorns."

" _What_?!" Judy exclaimed, so startled that she dropped the basket on the ground, spilling blueberries by Chloe's feet. "Oops. Sorry about that."

"Cheese and crackers, Judy, no need to freak out!" Chloe laughed.

"W-where do you think I got this cut from, then?" Judy asked nervously.

"Looks like a claw mark to me, so I'd say Nick gave it to you when the two of you were outside," Chloe stated simply.

Judy froze. She didn't want _anyone_ to find out about that incident. It was an accident, and after seeing how much it upset Nick, she didn't want anyone else giving him a hard time for it.

"Judy, what's the matter?" Chloe asked, looking a little worried. "You're just, like, staring at me. Hey, I'm sure Nick didn't hurt you on purpose. I wasn't trying to accuse him or anything; I know you guys are friends! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone either."

"Oh," Judy sighed with relief. "Thank you. It's just…well, I don't want anyone to blame Nick for what happened. It was an accident, and it was really my fault anyway."

"Oh, really?" Chloe said, interested. "What exactly were you doing, then? Trying to reenact that scene from the play?"

"What?!" Judy replied, suddenly feeling deeply embarrassed for some reason. "N-no, that's not what happened! I was holding his paw, a-and we were running over to the blueberries and Nick tripped—hey, what's so _funny_?!"

She looked accusingly at Chloe, who was laughing so hard she was about to fall over. It wasn't like this was uncommon for Chloe, but Judy didn't understand what she'd found so amusing about the situation.

"Why are you acting so _defensive_?" Chloe asked, still laughing. "Calm down; it was just a joke, ok? I didn't think you were that embarrassed about the play. Honestly, it looked like the kind of thing James would come up with, though…"

Judy stopped, taking a breath to calm herself down. Why _had_ she been so embarrassed?

" _Come to think of it, why on Earth did I do that in the play anyway?"_ she wondered. _"That was a bit much…"_

"Judy, are you alright?" Chloe asked again. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I wasn't trying to."

"No, I'm fine," Judy replied. "I was just worried about Nick. He was really upset when I got hurt so I didn't want anyone else to know about it."

"I won't tell anyone, don't worry," Chloe assured her. "As long as you don't tell anyone about my blueberries!"

Both sisters laughed, as Judy picked up the other basket and started placing new blueberries inside it.

"Seriously, though, don't tell anyone," Chloe repeated more seriously.

"I'm not telling anyone about your secret blueberry stash, ok?" Judy said. "Calm down. But after I fill up this basket, I'm going back to walk some more."

"Ok, but you probably shouldn't stay out too long," Chloe replied. "If Mom notices you're gone all the time, she might figure out that something happened last week."

Judy nodded, but didn't say anything. She was pretty sure that Bonnie had believed her story about the thorns, but she didn't want to take any chances. Judy was already hoping for the Wildes to come over again soon, and she wasn't about to do anything that might delay the next visit any longer.

* * *

"Judy!"

Judy sighed as she opened her eyes, trying to see what the commotion was all about. Usually, she was awake before James, but clearly that wasn't the case today. Her annoying brother was currently rolling his eyes at her, likely tired of waiting for her to wake up.

" _Well, he can just go complain to someone else; after all, he almost never gets up on time anyway,"_ Judy thought as she climbed out of bed.

"What is it?" she asked uninterestedly, rubbing her eyes. "Isn't it kind of early to—"

"The foxes are here again!" James interrupted. "Mom said you'd want to know—"

" _What_?!" Judy exclaimed. "Nick is here?! Are you messing with me, James? Because if you are, I'll—"

"No, no, they just got here!" James explained, holding his paws up in defense. "No one told me they were coming over today! I was just sitting out there, eating cereal, when—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Judy said, hurrying out the door.

Without looking back, she continued running down the hall until she reached the living room. Sure enough, John and May Wilde were sitting in the kitchen with Judy's parents, while Nick was waiting for her in the living room.

"Judy?" he said, turning to face her.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed, running up to her friend and hugging him. "I didn't know you were coming over today! It's so good to see you!"

"I didn't know either," Nick admitted. "Mom said our parents made it a surprise because, the last time, we were so excited that we stayed up all night and didn't get enough sleep."

Judy laughed. She remembered the night before the first visit, and she had definitely been awake for a long time. All of her siblings who shared the room had been fast asleep well before she was.

"Hi, Judy!" said a familiar voice: Nick's brother, Brendan. "Is Mallory here?"

"I'm sure she is; she might still be sleeping, though," Judy answered.

"Just found her!" Chloe called from the hallway.

Sure enough, the younger bunny was following along behind her, looking just as happy to see Brendan as he was to see her. Judy couldn't help but smile as the two younger kits hurried off to play with each other, blissfully unaware of the difference between their species.

" _I wish we could all be like that,"_ Judy thought wistfully. _"Why is it that species seems to matter so much to some mammals? Why is it so hard for predators and prey to get along?"_

Then again, she knew she should be grateful for how far their two families had already come. Stu, who would have previously never considered inviting a fox into his house, was now happily chatting away with John Wilde in the other room. Even Bonnie, who had always seemed a little more reasonable, had never been friends with a fox before meeting May. And none of it would have happened had it not been for Nick, unable to stand by and watch Judy get bullied.

"So…what do you want to do today, Nick?" Judy asked.

"Hmm…whatever you want to do, I guess," Nick replied. "You know this place better than I do."

"Ok, then, follow me!" Judy said, heading towards the door. "Last time, we didn't get to look around very far, but there's so much more I want to show you!"

* * *

For Judy and Nick, summer was over too soon. It hadn't taken long for their parents to become good friends, and soon enough, the visits became a regular occurrence. It was the beginning of an amazing friendship, and Judy and Nick spent every moment they could together. She showed him everything there was to see on the farm, and he followed wherever she led him. Their parents had never seen two kits as eager to see each other as those two, and they knew there was something special about this friendship.

It was the best summer of their lives. But, as all things do, it had to come to an end. Before long, the weather started to become colder, as the leaves changed color and began to fall. All throughout Bunnyburrow, bunny kits like Judy were preparing to go back to school.

In Judy's case, the morning of the first day of school found her just as excited as the first day of summer. Despite summer having ended, she was not sad. In fact, she was looking forward to going back to school, now that she knew Nick would be there. For the first time, she would be able to introduce him to all of her other friends, many of whom she hadn't seen since spring.

" _I wonder if Sharla will remember him from the festival,"_ Judy wondered. _"I never told her or any of the others who it was that gave me that bandage. Wow, was I still scared of him then? That's so weird to think about; we know each other so well now!"_

That reminded Judy that this would be Nick's first day of school in Bunnyburrow, something he had been noticeably worried about during the last few visits. As she climbed out of bed and started to get dressed, she recalled the events of the last visit.

"Nick, what's wrong?" she had asked, noticing he had been much quieter than usual. "Are you worried about something?"

"I…I've never been to school here before," he explained.

"That's what you're worried about?" Judy asked. "But I'm sure it can't be too different from school in the city, right?"

"I guess, but…" he started, pausing as if he was unsure whether or not he should finish. "Please don't hate me for saying it, but I'm…I'm scared of going to school with so many bunnies…"

"Why, though?" Judy inquired, curious. "I mean, I'm not trying to be mean, but aren't bunnies supposed to be scared of foxes, not the other way around?"

"But that's exactly what I'm so scared about!" Nick cried. "I don't _want_ anyone to be scared of me, or avoid me… I just want to…"

He closed his eyes, a few tears starting to fall. Judy threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her usual response to seeing Nick upset. Luckily for her, the fox seemed to like hugs just as much as a bunny. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and Nick wiped his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's ok, Nick, it's not your fault," Judy replied gently. "I'm sorry I didn't realize why you were worried. I should have known you would be scared about that… But I'm sure there are probably a few other foxes at school too, so you won't be all alone. And besides, I'll be there too!"

"But…you wouldn't want anyone to know you're friends with a fox, would you?" Nick asked.

"What?!" Judy exclaimed. "Why wouldn't I want anyone to know? You're my best friend ever!"

"But no one will like you if they know your best friend is a fox…" Nick said sadly.

"Pfft, everyone already thinks I'm crazy for wanting to be a police officer," Judy replied. "I don't want to try and fit in if it means making stuff up."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked. "I don't want you to have no friends because of me."

"Because of you, I have the best friend I could ever ask for," Judy stated flatly. "So even if no one else likes me, it doesn't matter."

"Wow," Nick remarked, a little stunned by her confidence. "I…I don't know what to say. I've never had someone say something that nice to me. But I promise I…I'll be there for you too! I want to be your friend and look out for you just like you do for me!"

"Nick," Judy said, smiling, "that means so much to me. But I already knew you would be there for me, because you stood up for me first. If…if I'm a good friend to you, it's only because _you_ were first."

Nick looked stunned. Judy wondered briefly if the incident from the first visit was still bothering him; he seemed astonished that anyone would compliment him so much.

"Do I really mean that much to you?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Judy answered honestly.

The two kits hugged again, and before long they were both back to their usual happy selves. Now, as Judy looked back on the exchange, all she hoped was that Nick would be alright at school. She wasn't even worried about herself; she knew she could handle a bunch of jerk bunnies any day, but she was scared for her friend.

" _If anything happens today, Nick, I will protect you,"_ she promised. _"No matter what, you will not be alone."_

"Judy!" James shouted impatiently from the door. "What are you _doing_? Aren't you coming? Why are you staring at the wall like some weirdo?"

"Shut up, James," Judy replied, turning around and walking past him without pausing.

"Hey, wait up!" James called, running down the hall after her.

"I'm not even going that fast, you lunatic," Judy said, rolling her eyes.

She continued ignoring her brother as she entered the kitchen, where at least a hundred of her siblings were eating breakfast. Though she was used to the loud noise, having grown up here, Judy still preferred to lower her ears behind her so as to lessen the assault on her hearing. It made it difficult to think, too, which was something she frequently heard Bonnie complaining about.

"Everyone, be quiet so I can see the road!" was a favorite saying of Judy's mother while driving the kits around. It sounded a little contradictory at first, but on days like this Judy could understand the sentiment.

In the living room, Judy sat down on the couch next to her older siblings Peter and Chloe. They seemed to be some of the most open-minded of her siblings when it came to foxes, so she preferred to hang around them instead of her other brothers and sisters.

" _If only they went to the same school as me,"_ Judy thought sadly. _"Nick would probably be less nervous if there were more bunnies like them…"_

"Good morning, Judy," Peter said politely. "How come you're so quiet today?"

"Yeah, you're usually really excited about the first day of school," Chloe agreed. "Not that I'm criticizing, because I never understood how you could get that excited about school anyway."

"It's just because…well, I'm worried about Nick," Judy admitted, almost whispering so that no one else in the burrow could hear.

Chloe nodded in understanding. She knew very well why Judy would be concerned about Nick going to a school full of bunnies. It was nice to have sympathy from her sister, even if she knew it didn't change the situation. It was relaxing to know that at least someone understood.

"You'll look out for him, won't you?" Peter asked.

"Of course!" Judy answered quickly. "He's my friend! He was so nice to me…how could I _not_ help him?"

Peter smiled.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he said. "You're a really good friend."

"It's true," Chloe agreed. "I've been watching the two of you all summer, and your friendship is something special. Seriously, I wish _I_ had friends like that."

Judy nodded silently, and was about to speak when the noise from the kitchen intensified.

"James, Mallory, stop fighting over that bagel and get ready for school!" Bonnie shouted. "The bus is almost here—Jeff, stop playing that guitar and get over here!"

Judy, Peter, and Chloe glanced at each other, all in agreement. They got up from the couch and made their way to the door, following the line of other bunnies who were heading outside to wait for the bus. There was a big day ahead of them, and none knew quite what to expect. Still, there was no use in delaying any longer.

As Judy looked around at her other brothers and sisters, she realized that most likely none of them were feeling the same as her right now. Though a good number of them weren't happy about going back to school, they probably didn't feel the weight of responsibility that she did.

Others might have told Judy that what happened to Nick at school wasn't up to her, but she wouldn't have listened. The way she saw it, since Nick had gone out of his way to help her, and she was one of the only other kits in Bunnyburrow he felt safe with, she couldn't _not_ do all she could to protect him.

Perhaps that was why she dreamed of being a police officer. She couldn't stand by and watch when she knew someone needed her. Where other mammals saw options, she saw only one clear path. She would never back down; she would never accept these injustices as they were, because she would never stop believing that things could be better than they were.

She was going to make the world a better place, whether the world cooperated or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, how was it? Let me know what you think!
> 
> At the very least, I can say I'm satisfied with that last line. Probably sounds narcissistic, but sometimes I really amuse myself. XD


	8. Awkward Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pizza is back! Sorry for dropping off the face of the Earth; that wasn't intentional. Then again, I don't usually intend on taking over half a month to update my story.
> 
> I've been having some trouble getting my schedule together. It's not as if I have a lot to do, either; I quit my job not too long ago and I don't have much schoolwork to do, but I am incredibly lazy. Seriously, it amazes me that even though I love this story and have been excited about writing it for a long time, I struggle so much with the actual writing portion. I think, like everything else, I just need to make it a regular habit to write and work on my stories, which is what I'm trying to do now. I'm feeling hopeful, but I realize you're probably all shaking your heads since I've said about a million times that I'm going to start 'updating more often' before dropping off the world.
> 
> Oh yeah, and I also joined the AVEN forum recently, so I've gotten in the habit of just going on there whenever I have nothing else to do. Not that this a bad thing; I just think I need to learn how to balance things better so that I don't wait another month to post the next chapter of this story.
> 
> What else is new? Well, I'm quarantined because of this thing called coronavirus, maybe you've heard of it? If I drop off the face of the Earth again, you can assume I was killed in the Toilet Paper War of 2020.
> 
> (Hey shut up pizza and let them read the story ok)
> 
> Yes, I'm talking to myself now. I really need sleep. I can't think of anything else to say, so enjoy the chapter!
> 
> Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading!

Nick was shaking as he stepped into the classroom, his paw holding Judy's tightly as if his life depended on it. He knew he should have been grateful; he was incredibly lucky to be in the same classroom as Judy, but for some reason, he just couldn't stop himself from feeling scared.

"Come on, Nick," Judy said to him quietly. "Let's go find our seats."

She started to pull away, and Nick reluctantly let go of her paw. Just as he was about to take his seat, he froze. In that moment, as he looked around the classroom at the other rabbit kits taking their seats, and Judy walking away from him to do the same, he found himself unable to move.

The memories of the Scouts' meeting came flooding back into his mind, the terrified feelings becoming as clear as if he was back in that room again, knocked to the floor. No, it was more than just feeling scared this time. Ever since the incident during his first visit to the Hopps' farm, Nick's guilt and shame about being a predator had only grown worse.

He tried to stop it. He reminded himself of what Judy had told him, that he should never have to feel ashamed for what he was, but some days were harder than others. For some reason, being here in the classroom, he was suddenly struck by how innocent and harmless the bunny kits seemed.

And…how different he was from them.

All at once, he felt incredibly self-conscious about being here, about his predatory attributes being on display for all of these bunnies to see. The worst part was that he knew, if they were to gang up on him like the Scouts' did, he wouldn't fight back. He couldn't. He hadn't tried to defend himself then, and he certainly didn't see himself doing it now. He felt a tear forming in his eye…

" _No!"_ his inward voice shouted firmly. _"I will_ not _let them see me this way! Not this time!"_

Taking a deep breath, Nick held back the tears and started towards his desk. Relieved to see he was seated across from Judy, he quietly sat down, careful not to make any loud noises as he did so.

That was another side effect of Nick's embarrassment; he had started subconsciously behaving more calmly and quietly, as if to counteract his supposedly intimidating appearance. It had happened so gradually that Nick hadn't noticed he was doing it, but Judy had pointed it out to him a few times. He didn't think she knew the real reason behind it, though.

Nick didn't move or make a sound as he waited for class to start. He sat perfectly still in his seat, looking down at his desk, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else. It felt as if everyone was watching him, but he wouldn't dare look to see whether or not that was actually the case.

"Alright, class," the teacher started; she was a light brownish gray rabbit who looked a little younger than Judy's mother. "I'm Miss Warren and I'll be your teacher for this year. Let's see…it's about time, so we'll go ahead and get started with roll call."

As Miss Warren started listing off names, Nick became more anxious with every second. He knew his own name was somewhere on that list, and he would have to speak up when it was called.

" _I'm already in the class; it's not like no one can see me,"_ he reminded himself. _"Besides, all I have to do is say 'here!' and then it'll be over."_

"Judy Hopps?" Miss Warren read from the list.

"Here!" Judy announced cheerily.

Being reminded that Judy was in the classroom eased Nick's worries a little. He knew that, even if all of the other kits hated him, she would still be there for him. And right now he needed that, because if anyone tried to shame him just for being a fox, he didn't think he could defend himself. How was he supposed to argue against those who called him a dangerous predator if he couldn't stop seeing himself that way?

And then finally, Miss Warren read off the last name on the list.

"Nick Wilde?"

"Here," Nick said quietly, barely raising his paw.

"And your family just moved here from Zootopia, right?" she asked.

"Um…yes, that's right…" Nick confirmed, now feeling even more like everyone was watching him.

"In that case, welcome to Bunnyburrow," Miss Warren said kindly. "We're glad to have you here."

Nick breathed a sigh of relief as she proceeded to start teaching, and he could distract himself from all of his worries and fears. Looking over at Judy, he saw she was smiling at him encouragingly. At least, if nothing else, her presence made him feel slightly less anxious about being here.

" _I am not going to let them see I'm afraid,"_ Nick promised himself. _"If they judge me for what I am, I can't let them see that it gets to me. I may be a predator, but I would_ never _hurt anyone on purpose! If Judy believes in me, then I can too."_

* * *

"Hi, Judy!" called a familiar voice from across the cafeteria.

Judy spun around and saw her friend Sharla, a black sheep, sitting at a table on the far side of the room. Excited to see her friend for the first time since the fair, Judy bounced over and sat down by her.

"So, what have you been up to?" Sharla asked curiously. "I haven't seen you since…you know. How was your summer?"

"It was a lot of fun!" Judy answered. "Oh, you'll never believe what happened, Sharla! You remember I told you about that nice kit that gave me the bandage, after Gideon clawed me?"

"Yeah, I remember," Sharla confirmed. "Did you ever find him?"

"Actually…yes, I did," Judy said. "He should be here soon. Do you want to meet him?"

"Really?!" Sharla exclaimed, taken by surprise. "Oh…um…sure!"

Judy chuckled. Sharla was usually nervous about meeting new mammals, but she seemed to get along with most of them just fine. Well, except for Gideon Grey, but he wasn't known to be the most approachable kit anyway. He and Sharla especially disliked each other; they had been this way for so long that Judy couldn't remember how it started.

"Ok, hold my seat while I go find him!" Judy said, setting her tray down on the table and jumping up from her seat.

"Wait—" Sharla started.

"It's ok; I'll be right back!" Judy promised. "It's just that Nick is a little bit shy and I don't think he'll come sit with us unless I ask him to."

"Um, ok then," Sharla mumbled as Judy took off running across the room.

Sharla had always struggled to keep up with Judy, who seemed to live her life at about 1.5 times the speed of most mammals. Luckily, because of this, it didn't take Judy long to locate Nick in the crowd. His face displayed a neutral expression, though she could tell he was nervous. Despite his efforts to hide his emotions, she knew him well enough to see through it.

" _You dumb bunny!"_ Judy berated herself. _"Why would you run off without checking to see if Nick followed? He's probably been wondering where you were…"_

Nick was walking through the lunch line, between a deer and a squirrel. His eyes kept darting all around the room, as if he was expecting some kind of ambush. Not wanting to see him worried like this, Judy hurried over to her friend.

"Judy?" Nick said, looking a little surprised to see her. "Where did you go…?"

"Sorry about that," Judy apologized. "I was just in a hurry to get to lunch and I didn't notice you weren't following me."

"You ran off too fast!" Nick exclaimed. "I couldn't find you—"

"I know, I know," Judy interrupted. "I was being a dumb bunny, ok? Please don't be mad at me."

Nick sighed. Though he did his best to hide it, it was clear to Judy that being separated from her had frightened him. Being one of the only predators in a school full of prey couldn't be easy. Judy suddenly wished she had been paying closer attention when they left the classroom.

"I'm not mad at you, Judy," Nick said. "But…please don't run off like that again…"

"I won't," Judy promised. "Oh, I was going to ask you if you wanted to meet my friend. She's a little shy, but I think you'll really like each other."

"Um…ok, sure," Nick agreed.

Judy waited until Nick got his food, then led him across the cafeteria to where Sharla was waiting for them. When the sheep noticed who was walking with Judy, she flinched.

"Sharla, this is my friend Nick," Judy said, indicating the nervous fox kit behind her. "Nick, this is my friend Sharla. We've known each other for a long time."

It was one of the most uncomfortable moments of Judy's life. Sharla, who had just gotten out of her seat when Judy and Nick walked over, was now standing still, watching Nick anxiously. Nick, however, looked just as nervous. He was still holding his lunch tray, and seemed afraid to sit down.

" _Maybe I should have told Sharla that he's a fox?"_ Judy thought. _"But I really didn't think it would be such a big deal…"_

"Um…why don't you both sit down?" Judy suggested, trying to ease the tension.

She sat down next to Sharla, and Nick took the seat across from them. A few more seconds of awkward silence passed, during which Judy noticed Sharla seemed to be examining Nick's lunch tray.

" _Huh, I didn't even notice Nick's tray was all vegetables, like ours,"_ Judy thought. _"I guess foxes are omnivores, but they still have to eat meat sometimes, right?"_

Now that she thought about it, though, she wasn't sure the cafeteria at this school served anything other than vegetables and fruits and such, so it was likely that any predators that had to eat meat would have to bring it themselves. And Judy supposed, with Nick being as nervous as he was about being one of the only predators in the school, he probably wouldn't want to make himself more obvious by eating something most prey found repulsive.

The three of them continued eating their lunch in awkward silence. Occasionally, Judy considered saying something to try and break the ice, but she was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable with every second, and honestly just wished lunch period would end soon.

" _Why didn't I tell Sharla that Nick is a fox?"_ Judy wondered. _"Would it have even made a difference, telling her in advance? I mean, I don't even know how_ I _would feel about it if it hadn't been for Nick standing up to Gideon—"_

That gave her an idea.

"Hey, Sharla?" Judy said. "There's something I forgot to tell you about when I met Nick."

"Oh…really?" Sharla replied quietly, still nervously watching Nick out of the corner of her eyes.

"Well, before he gave me the bandage, he actually stood up to Gideon and scared him off," Judy explained.

"Really?!" Sharla exclaimed, suddenly intrigued.

"Yep," Judy confirmed, smiling. "Nick, why don't you tell her what happened?"

Nick flinched, his eyes widening. He hadn't expected to be asked to talk.

"Um…well, it's not that interesting, really," he mumbled, facing down to avoid looking Sharla in the eyes. "I just saw Gideon trying to hurt Judy, so I got really angry and went over to help her, and…well, I think I kind of…screamed a little…"

"It was incredible!" Judy said. "He was so angry; it was kinda scary, at first. But he just kept yelling at Gideon to leave me alone, and then he did this thing where he sort of growled and screamed at him at the same time, and Gideon went running!"

"Wow, that's amazing," Sharla agreed, looking genuinely impressed.

"I—it wasn't quite as impressive as Judy makes it sound…" Nick said modestly. "I'm lucky he ran off and didn't try to attack me, too. I couldn't have fought him by myself."

"Are you sure?" Sharla replied. "I mean, those fangs of yours look pretty sharp. Sharper than Gideon's, I think."

Almost reflexively, Nick slapped a paw over his snout, startled. Sharla, confusion evident on her face, glanced over at Judy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Judy said quietly, making sure no one else could hear. "Nick is a little sensitive about being a predator. I don't really understand _why_ …"

"Oh!" Sharla said, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Nick, I didn't mean to offend you or anything. It was actually supposed to be a compliment…"

"Wait…really?" Nick replied, still a little hesitant. "So you meant…me having sharp fangs is a good thing?"

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Sharla replied. "I wish I was a predator too, then maybe Gideon wouldn't mess with me all the time."

"I know!" Judy agreed. "I've told Nick the same thing; I don't see the downside."

"I guess the downside is you'd probably cut your tongue more often," Nick said thoughtfully.

Both Judy and Sharla laughed, and Nick finally smiled. Judy was relieved; she hated seeing Nick so nervous all the time, and she was glad that Sharla had made him feel better about himself. It still didn't make sense to Judy why Nick was so uncomfortable with himself, but it was nice to see him relax a little.

" _This could be the start of a really good school year,"_ Judy thought hopefully. _"Who knows? Maybe by next summer, Nick will have forgotten all about being nervous. He really doesn't need to feel that way. Can he not see what an amazing mammal he is? I wonder why he doesn't believe in himself…"_

But all of that would have to wait. As good as today had been, it was only the first of many days of going to school together. So, Judy told herself to wait patiently, to see what the coming year had in store for them.

It was going to be unlike any year before it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize it's not quite as long as the last few. I'm hoping with my new writing schedule, I'll be able to write longer chapters, but I know I wouldn't be too surprised if I take another ridiculously long hiatus because I'm so lazy.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Stay safe, everyone! (and please don't hoard toilet paper, that isn't cool.)
> 
> P.S. if anyone from AVEN is reading this, the ace headcanons are coming...eventually.
> 
> See you all next chapter, and good night!


	9. Conflicted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's happened again! United Pizza says he's going to update more often, then proceeds to disappear for three weeks! I really should know better than to think it would happen any other way.
> 
> I don't even know what's going on anymore. I mean, I guess I've been in a weird place for a while, trying to get up in the morning because that's when I want to write, but then I'm always too tired or something like that. Then, this past week, I had another nostalgia episode, though at least it wasn't as bad as what happened when I was on that awful medicine back in January.
> 
> I have learned, though, that I go off the rails and get really depressed whenever life is too much the same for too long, and nothing happens. I guess it goes without saying that the last month hasn't been easy for me. Though, as I'm learning with my nostalgia episodes, it seems like the last time I was consistently in an overall good mood is when we were living in our old house. Thank goodness I'm planning to move back there someday.
> 
> Right now, I don't even know what to think anymore. I'm tired of always feeling miserable and not being able to fix it. I wish there was some way to change that, but it looks like it's not going to improve significantly until a lot of things in my life change. So, I'm trying not to worry about it too much. Additionally, I'm trying to tell myself not to worry too much about making fanfics 'perfect' and just write what feels good. I really hope it leads to more regular updates, but...*sigh*...I don't know how many times I've said that now.
> 
> Anyway, that's not the reason you're here. You're here (presumably) to read about Judy and Nick and see what they get up to next. So, I'll go ahead and shut up, and let you enjoy the chapter. I'm really looking forward to writing more of this story!
> 
> Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading again, and Happy Easter to everyone! (what better time to read a fanfic about bunnies?)

" _How can she be friends with him?"_

" _Did no one ever teach her to stay away from foxes?"_

" _That crazy bunny's going to get herself hurt if she keeps hanging around that predator!"_

" _EEP! HE JUST LOOKED AT ME!"_

" _How stupid is she to think a fox and a rabbit could be friends? They're natural enemies! They have to know this can never end well!"_

* * *

Judy didn't care what the other prey kids said about her and Nick. Or, at least, that's what she told herself. In truth, she had always been more or less invincible when it came to the opinions of others. Everyone had thought she was crazy for a long time, due to her seemingly impossible dream of becoming a police officer and her refusal to ever give up on anything, ever. Nearly everyone who had challenged her reached the same conclusion: it just wasn't worth it. Judy Hopps was going to do what she wanted to do, and no amount of criticism from others was going to change that.

The same, unfortunately, couldn't be said for her friend Sharla. Unlike Judy, Sharla paid attention to everything the other kids said, and dwelled on it frequently. In the past, it hadn't affected her much. Even though she knew the others didn't think much of her, they would never have approached her directly. No one, except of course Gideon Grey, would think of messing with Judy or her friends. No one wanted to risk incurring the wrath of _that_ crazy bunny.

Lately, though, Sharla seemed more worried than usual. She was acting nervous and fidgety all through school, and Judy had taken notice. At first, the bunny assumed her friend was just having a few bad days and would be back to normal soon, but after a few weeks, she realized something else was up.

"Sharla," Judy said firmly, "is something wrong? You seem really worried. Can I help?"

Sharla sighed as she followed her friend through the lunch line. Nick was ahead of them and had already gone to sit down by himself, something he had been doing recently. Judy intended to talk to him soon too, to find out what was wrong, but first she needed to know what was bugging Sharla so much.

"Do you know what they're all saying about you?" Sharla whispered, leaning over to speak into Judy's ear. "About…you and Nick?"

"Yes," Judy confirmed aloud, startling Sharla who was trying to keep anyone else from overhearing. "They say he's a dangerous predator and I should stay away from him. Why do you ask?"

"Don't you…doesn't it bother you…?" Sharla asked.

"Well, of course it bothers me that they're mean to him," Judy replied. "But everyone already thought _I_ was crazy anyway. That reminds me; I need to go check on him. Wait for me, Sharla!"

She immediately went bouncing across the cafeteria, towards the table where Nick was sitting by himself. Lately, he had been avoiding sitting near Judy and her friends, and she was worried about him.

"Nick," Judy said, sitting down across from him.

"You shouldn't be sitting here, you know," Nick replied.

"Why not?" Judy asked. "Nick, did I do something to upset you? I thought we were best friends, but you never sit with me anymore—"

"Look around you," Nick said simply, still not looking her in the eye.

Judy turned and glanced around at the room and noticed that, sure enough, almost everyone in the room was looking at them. They all had the strangest looks on their faces, too. Actually, most of them were looking at Judy, specifically.

"I don't care," Judy replied, turning back to face Nick. "If they have a problem with us sitting together, they can come tell me themselves."

"So…you don't mind eating with a predator?" Nick asked.

"No, why would I?" Judy countered. "You sat with me and Sharla the first day, remember? Why would today be any different?"

"I…I guess it isn't," Nick agreed.

Judy smiled.

"See, you don't need to worry about that," she said. "I keep telling you, Nick, you don't need to feel so bad just because you're different. And please, don't try to push me away. I _want_ to be your friend."

Nick nodded, this time looking her in the eye.

* * *

"Did you seriously go and sit with that fox?" a white bunny demanded.

"Yes, Samantha, I did," Judy replied simply. "Why do you sound so frantic about it?"

Judy didn't even bother to look behind her at the group of bunnies she knew were following after her. She continued to make her way down the hall, towards the door. School was over for the day, and she was ready to go home.

"B-but, Judy—" the white bunny, Samantha, said, hurrying after Judy.

"Yes?" Judy inquired.

She refused to stop walking, and so Samantha was forced to walk backwards in front of her, trying to get her attention.

"Why did you sit with a _fox_?" Samantha asked, so quietly it was as if she was talking about something scandalous. "Judy, he's a _predator_. Don't you know what foxes do to—"

"He isn't going to eat me, if that's what you're suggesting," Judy replied firmly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to—"

"W-wait! Don't go!" shouted a light brown bunny, who came running up to join them.

"Hi, June," Judy said politely; she finally stopped walking. "How have you been?"

"Oh, um, good, I guess…" June replied nervously. "But…um, Judy…"

"Oh, and would you mind telling your sister I'm done talking to her?" Judy continued. "Thanks! I'll see you tomorrow—"

"But, Judy!" June interrupted. "Sam and I actually agreed… Foxes are dangerous…"

"You _too_?!" Judy exclaimed, throwing her paws in the air. "Is that why you're all following me? To tell me my friend is dangerous and I should stay away from him?"

She turned to face the group behind her. As it turned out, most of them were actually just going home, not following after her to complain about Nick. Sharla was nowhere to be seen, so Judy figured she wasn't part of whatever plan Samantha and June had.

" _I guess Nick already left, too,"_ Judy thought. _"That's for the best, then. He doesn't need to hear whatever Samantha has to say…"_

"Look, Judy, we're just worried about you," Samantha said. "I mean, what do you even know about this fox? He just moved here—"

"He stood up to Gideon for me," Judy stated flatly. "My parents invited his family over to our farm several times over the summer. He's one of the nicest mammals I've ever met. But please, do continue."

Samantha was speechless. For several seconds, she stood there, looking as if she was going to say something else but always deciding against it. Her sister, June, was still as nervous as ever. Judy had known the two sisters for several years now, and though they were friends, she had always found Samantha a little more difficult to get along with. She didn't think much of Judy's dreams to become a police officer, either, but Judy had finally gotten her to shut up about that.

"I, um… _wow_ ," Samantha said. "Sorry, I had no idea. You're not messing with me, right? This all really happened?"

"Yes!" Judy confirmed, rolling her eyes. "Cheese and crackers, do you _ever_ listen—"

"And you're sure he won't hurt you?" Samantha pressed, either not noticing Judy's frustration or purposely ignoring it. "Because I heard what happened with Gideon, and…well, he's not exactly the brightest."

Judy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She knew her friend was only worried about her safety, so she didn't want to sound too harsh. But, she still needed to make it perfectly clear that she wasn't worried about Nick's intentions. She needed to make it clear that he was her friend and she trusted him, regardless of what others might think about foxes.

"You don't have to worry about Nick," Judy explained. "I know plenty of bunnies who are more aggressive than he is. And the only reason he sits by himself is because he doesn't like the way everyone thinks predators are dangerous."

"Well…if you say so," Samantha replied, though she still sounded uncertain. "I'm sure you know what you're doing. But just…be careful, ok?"

" _Yes,_ mother _,"_ Judy thought sarcastically.

"I will," she said. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye!" June replied cheerily.

* * *

A few days later, Nick was walking to the cafeteria with the rest of the kids, when he was suddenly accosted by a rabbit he didn't quite recognize. He looked to be about Judy's age and had the same color fur, but his eyes were a dark brown instead of Judy's unusual violet. He bore a resemblance to Judy, but there was something in his expression that was very different from her.

"Hey," he said unkindly, holding up his paw as if telling Nick to halt. "You're Nick, right? I need to talk to you."

Nick didn't reply immediately. He didn't know who this standoffish bunny was, and he didn't really care to talk to him either. He also noticed that the rabbit was scared, despite trying to act brave.

" _Hmm, his scent is kind of similar to Judy's,"_ Nick realized. _"Maybe this is one of her brothers?"_

"Are you listening to me, fox?" the unfriendly rabbit said, interrupting Nick's thoughts. "Don't ignore me! I'm not letting you in here until you promise to stay away from my sister!"

Just then, Nick remembered he'd seen this bunny once before, at the Hopps burrow. He was Judy's brother, James Hopps. Nick had only seen him briefly, but he'd heard Judy complain about him all the time. He apparently had a bit of an attitude.

"Judy is my friend, so I'm not going to promise to stay away from her," Nick said calmly. "Now, please get out of my way and let me in the cafeteria."

He stepped forward slowly, waiting to see if James would move. The rabbit stepped back a bit, though he was still trying to look brave.

"I'm warning you, fox!" James shrieked.

"He's _warning_ me _?"_ Nick thought, amused. _"Does he not realize I can smell how scared he is? Ugh, he stinks of fear! How can rabbits' sense of smell be so bad they miss_ that _?"_

"You're not coming in this room!" James shouted again, though it sounded more like he was pleading with Nick rather than issuing a command.

Nick almost laughed. Normally, he hated it when prey were scared of him, but that didn't seem to apply to James. He was irritated with the rabbit for trying to block the doorway, and because of that, he almost _liked_ how frightened the prey was. He could have fun with this.

Stepping forward again, Nick snarled. It was a sound he usually didn't like, because of how growling was associated with being a 'dangerous predator', but in this instance, it worked to his advantage. James was finally done trying to be brave.

"Aah!" he screamed, turning and running into the cafeteria. "Help! He's going to eat me!"

Nick obviously had no intention of eating Judy's brother, but he did sort of enjoy the fact that James thought he might. At least, until he entered the cafeteria and noticed the rest of the kids giving him looks ranging from mildly disapproving to horrified. And just like that, the familiar shame of being a predator came flooding back.

"Did you really try to eat him?!" a white bunny kit accused, standing up from her table and looking directly at him.

Nick froze briefly. This bunny wasn't like James. She wasn't just some annoying brat trying to keep him out of the cafeteria, and she didn't look scared either. She was accusing him of being a dangerous predator, and he didn't know that he could fight those accusations. After all, if he had enjoyed scaring James so much, did that mean he was no different than any other predator?

The white bunny approached Nick, her expression angry and determined. Nick stood still, unsure of what to do. Was she going to attack him?

" _Nick, are you_ scared _of her?!"_ he asked himself. _"You're a_ fox _! Your ancestors used to_ eat _bunnies! She can't hurt you!"_

Nick immediately felt ashamed for thinking that. It was more or less what Gideon had said to Judy at the Carrot Days festival, and that was exactly the kind of predator he _didn't_ want to be!

"James, quit being such a drama queen!" another female voice said, though Nick couldn't see who it was.

"I'm not!" James complained. "He really did try to eat me—"

The white rabbit stopped in front of Nick, looking him directly in the eyes.

" _Did_ you?" she demanded.

"No!" Nick replied. "He was blocking the doorway and wouldn't let me in, so I…I…"

The bunny rolled her eyes.

"Typical James," she remarked. "Sorry, I should have known. But if I ever find out you've threatened anyone else—"

"Samantha, that's enough," said a familiar voice.

Looking over, Nick saw Judy walking up to them, Sharla beside her. He figured they must have just arrived in time to witness the drama.

The white bunny, Samantha, finally backed off, though she still kept her eyes trained on Nick for a few seconds. Nick breathed a sigh of relief; it looked like things were about to calm down.

"Judy!" James shouted, running up to join the standoff. "That fox just attacked me—"

"Shut up!" Judy retorted. "How stupid do you think I am?! If Nick actually 'attacked' you, then why is it you're not hurt?"

"Well…um…I got away," James replied.

Judy narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not believing one bit of his story.

"Yeah, right," she said. "You couldn't even fight _me_ for the cereal this morning; there's no way you fought off a predator."

Then, she turned and walked up to Nick, throwing her arms around him. He was a little surprised, but recalled that bunnies hugged a lot more than most other animals.

"Sorry my brother was such a jerk to you," Judy apologized. "Do you want to come sit with us?"

"No, he's supposed to be staying away from you!" James protested.

"Give it a rest, James!" a light brown bunny called from the table where Samantha had been sitting, the same one who'd called James a drama queen earlier.

Judy stepped back from Nick, then took his paw in her own and led him over to the lunch line. Sharla followed, while Samantha headed back to her table. James got in the line behind Nick, Judy, and Sharla, but didn't say anything. He looked angry, but he knew better than to argue with Judy any further.

* * *

That night, Nick lay awake in bed, mulling over the day's events again and again. He hadn't told either of his parents or his brother about what had happened, and he honestly still wasn't sure how to feel about it.

" _He was terrified of me…"_ Nick recalled. _"Did I take things too far? Am I no better than Gideon, abusing my power as a predator?"_

He couldn't stop thinking about the way Judy's friend Samantha had looked at him accusingly. It was like she saw him as a threat to the other bunnies, and she would do anything to protect them from him. He didn't want anyone to see him as a potential threat; he didn't _want_ to hurt anyone!

And yet…there were parts of the encounter that he _liked_. As Nick lay there, he let out a quiet growl, enjoying the sound of it. He carefully ran his tongue over his fangs, liking the feel of how sharp they were.

Until now, he had been trying to prove to himself that he was a good mammal in _spite_ of being a fox.

" _But what if…"_ he thought, _"what if I actually like being a predator? Is that ok? If prey can be proud of who they are, shouldn't I be allowed to do the same? But preds have such a violent history… Does that mean it's wrong to be proud of my species?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What does it all mean? Well, you'll just have to wait to find out!
> 
> Also, if any part of this chapter seemed weird, it's mostly intentional. It's also fine if everything makes perfect sense. I was writing about some ideas that I don't know how others will interpret, so feel free to let me know what you thought.
> 
> I'm having way too much fun writing my OCs, by the way. Seriously, I'm already shipping some of them in my head. But I can't tell you any details just yet!
> 
> Stay safe, everyone! I hope to update as soon as I can!


	10. Trust Ritual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least I didn't take three weeks this time! XD
> 
> I'm currently in the progress of trying to change my sleep schedule a bit, so as a result of that I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Writing is something that for me typically happens in random bursts, and in the last few days I've had quite a lot of those. I wrote almost a third of this chapter just today, and it's ended up way longer than any of the others. I hope everyone likes it, because I certainly enjoyed writing it!
> 
> My mood is being kind of weird lately, too. Sometimes I feel really great and energetic and everything's amazing, but then sometimes I'm bored and miserable and just feel like...ugh. I think a lot of it is because of my sleep schedule changes, so eventually that should change. There have been a number of other things going on in my life too, most of which I've mentioned here in my notes. It doesn't help that we're in quarantine until who knows when and nothing is happening. Sometimes, the dull constant nothing makes me kind of lose my mind.
> 
> Thankfully, I've felt pretty good the last few days. I was actually able to go hiking with my family yesterday, and Zephyr and I have been playing a lot of Mario Kart lately to help pass the time, so I feel mostly positive right now.
> 
> Alright, I don't know that I have much else to say, so I'll go ahead and let you read the chapter now. Enjoy!
> 
> Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading!

Judy sat on her bed, desperately trying to focus on her homework despite the chaos. Since she shared a room with so many siblings, finding quiet time alone wasn't easy. To make it worse, today her siblings' favorite conversation topic seemed to be Judy herself.

Or, more specifically, Judy's friendship with Nick.

"—and then he growled at me," James recounted to a group of their younger siblings, "and I _knew_ he was going to try and eat me, so I turned and ran—"

"Like a coward," Judy said in a dull, uninterested tone. "And he wasn't trying to eat you, but I don't expect you to understand that any more than the last fifty times I told you."

"What is your problem?!" James demanded, turning to glare at her.

"Well, it might have something to do with the fact that you keep spreading lies about my friends," Judy answered calmly.

James had a pouty expression, but didn't argue with her. As for the other bunnies who'd been listening to the story, they looked at James like he was a hero and regarded Judy with confused and mildly disturbed looks.

Well, _almost_ all of them.

"You're being mean to Judy's friends!" Mallory said, hitting him with a plush bunny.

"Mallory!" James whined, trying to fend her off to no avail. "Stop hitting me! You'll understand when you're older!"

Judy snorted in amusement, unable to keep quiet.

"What?!" James demanded, turning back to her again.

"You think you're so mature," Judy said, "but you're _such_ a baby. You seriously still can't get over me and Nick being friends? And now you're just pouting because he didn't listen to you when you tried to block him from the cafeteria."

"Yeah, to keep him from eating _you_ for lunch," James muttered angrily.

"Oh, _likely_!" Judy said sarcastically. "You don't even _like_ me! If you actually wanted to protect me, you'd stop being such a jerk and _grow up_!"

With that, she jumped off the bed, tapped James on the head with her notebook, and proceeded to leave the room.

"Me too!" Mallory said, assaulting James with her plush bunny again before running to follow her sister.

Judy couldn't help but smile. She didn't really blame most of her younger siblings for being slightly prejudiced against foxes, since most of them just didn't know any better, but it lifted her spirits to see that Mallory didn't buy into it at all.

" _At least none of them are as irritating as James,"_ Judy thought, still angry. _"Ugh! Will he_ ever _grow up?!"_

"Judy!" Mallory said as they walked down the hall. "I sit with Brendan at lunch and the other bunnies think I'm crazy too!"

Judy couldn't help but smile; her sister sounded so happy sharing that piece of news. Almost as if being thought crazy by the rest of the school was some kind of achievement to live up to.

"Does Brendan ever feel…bad?" Judy asked, curious.

Mallory looked confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "You mean, does he get sad?"

"Well, yes," Judy confirmed. "I mean, does he get sad about being a fox?"

Judging from the little bunny's face, this confused Mallory even more than the first question.

"Why would he feel bad about that?" she asked. "Foxes are so pretty! They have fur like carrots!"

Judy chuckled, relieved that her little sister and Nick's brother hadn't faced the same kind of problems as her and Nick. Still, it made her wonder again just _why_ Nick felt so ashamed about being a predator. It didn't seem to be something all predators experienced, as far as she could tell.

" _Could it just be because he saw what Gideon did to me?"_ Judy wondered, rubbing the spot on her cheek where the scar had been. _"Surely he knows he isn't anything like that! Just because a mammal has sharp teeth and claws doesn't mean they_ want _to hurt anyone!"_

The thought made her suddenly feel rather sad. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to be ashamed of her own _species_. Even though she cared nothing for the stereotypes about rabbits, she never wished she was any other kind of mammal. She just wished everyone else wasn't so baffled by the idea of a rabbit police officer. She wanted to be seen as a bunny _and_ a strong, brave mammal.

"You're right, Mallory," Judy said. "No one should feel bad about being what they are."

* * *

Judy sighed again as she entered the lunch line, following behind Samantha and June. Sharla and Nick were right behind her, and thankfully, James was nowhere to be seen.

Despite being energetic and very sociable, Judy was growing tired of sitting with different mammals every day. It seemed to her she sat with Nick sometimes, then with Sharla, Samantha, and June, or sometimes with Nick _and_ Sharla…

" _This would be so much easier if_ certain _friends weren't so opposed to sitting with predators,"_ she thought, shooting Samantha a glare she knew wouldn't be noticed.

Just as Judy was about to decide who to sit with today, someone else came running up to them: a light brown squirrel with thick-framed glasses, about the same age as Judy and her friends. She must have already gone through the line and found a seat somewhere.

"Hi, Judy!" she said cheerily. "Sam, Sharla, June…it's great to see you all!"

"Clara?" Judy replied. "Wow, where have you been?"

"I thought you transferred somewhere else," Samantha said.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a long story," Clara laughed. "Sorry I was gone for so long, but I'm glad to be back now!"

"Oh, by the way, this is my friend Nick," Judy said, indicating the nervous fox kit standing between her and Sharla. "His family moved here in the summer."

Clara turned to face Nick, a hint of fear evident from her expression. Nick must have sensed it, because he suddenly looked a bit downcast.

"Um…hi, Nick," Clara said, waving nervously. "It's nice to meet you. So, um, do you guys want to all sit together? There's still a lot of seats left at my table."

"Sure!" Judy agreed enthusiastically. "Let's all sit together for a change. What do you think, Sharla?"

"I like that idea, too," Sharla replied.

"Great!" Judy said. "Sam?"

Samantha narrowed her eyes at Judy, but didn't protest. June didn't say anything either, though she kept nervously glancing at Nick. It was evident that she and Clara were both still frightened of the fox kit, but they didn't seem to have anything against him.

Actually, Nick seemed a little nervous too, but Judy was hopeful that he would be able to relax once June and Clara got over their apprehension.

Clara led the way back to her table, the other five following behind her. They all took seats at the same table, though Samantha was careful to seat herself and June on the other side of the table from Nick, who sat next to Judy.

"So," Clara said, still cheery despite being a little nervous, "Judy, how did you and Nick meet? You said it was during summer?"

"Yes," Judy confirmed, proceeding to tell the story about what happened at the fair with Gideon.

"Wow, really?" Clara said, impressed. "Nick, you actually scared off _Gideon_?"

"Um…yeah," Nick answered.

"I really wish I'd been there to see it!" Sharla said. "He's such a jerk! But, he hasn't bothered any of us since then. He knows not to mess with Nick's friends, I guess."

"Yeah, it's too bad my brother won't take a hint, too," Judy complained. "A few days ago, he went and started bugging Nick, and Nick scared him away, but he still keeps annoying me."

"James?" Clara guessed.

"Yep," Judy said.

"Surprising," Sharla remarked. "He still thinks Nick's trying to eat him, doesn't he?"

Judy rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but he thinks he wants to eat _me_ , too," she said. "Why would I be friends with someone who wants to eat me?"

"Well, after seeing you in that play, I'd almost think you _want_ to be eaten," Samantha said.

" _Samantha!"_ Judy thought. _"Why'd you have to bring that up?! Now Nick is going to wonder what—"_

"What play?" Nick asked, confused.

Judy took a deep breath; she was so embarrassed by _that_ part of her performance in the play and really wished mammals would stop talking about it.

"It was the play at the fair," Sharla explained, before Judy had the chance. She proceeded to retell the story of the play, and then explained how Judy had so enthusiastically exaggerated the violent scene.

"I was _improvising_!" Judy said indignantly.

Clara laughed slightly; she hadn't been there to see the play. Nick, the only other one at the table who hadn't seen it, looked like he was lost in thought. Judy couldn't imagine what he was thinking, but she was sure it wasn't that she was a normal kit. Then again, she had never really tried to be normal anyway.

" _Hopefully he doesn't think I'm crazy or anything like that,"_ she thought. _"Well, I guess I am a_ little _crazy, but he already knows that…"_

"Well, Judy, I didn't know you liked blood so much," Nick said jokingly. "Maybe _you_ should have been a predator, then. Should we switch species?"

Clara and June both laughed, and Judy chuckled a bit too. Though the subject still made her kind of uncomfortable, it relaxed her to see that Nick and the others didn't seem bothered by it.

"At least they didn't have you act out that Trust Ritual thing," Samantha commented.

"What?" Judy replied, confused. "What's that?"

"Well, _I_ don't think it really happened," Samantha explained, "but there's this story that back when Zootopia was founded—"

She stopped, glancing at Nick. Looking over at him, Judy saw that the fox was shaking his head urgently, his eyes wide. He must have known exactly what Samantha was talking about, and was clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

"Nick…?" Judy said uncertainly. "Why don't you want me to—"

"She's right!" Nick blurted out, presumably talking about Samantha. "No one knows if it actually happened and it's probably just a story anyway, so there's no reason to worry about it."

The table fell silent. Either no one else knew what Samantha and Nick were talking about, or they were just too afraid to speak up. Regardless, Judy was too curious at this point to just forget about the whole thing. Whatever this 'Trust Ritual' was, she was going to find out.

" _What could it be that made Nick react that way?"_ Judy wondered. _"Does he just not want me to know about it? And if so, then…why?"_

But, there was no way to answer these questions now. So, the bunny kit continued eating her lunch in silence as her mind tried to formulate a plan. Because there was no chance that Judy Hopps would ever let a mystery remain a mystery. Not _this_ bunny.

* * *

The next day at school, Judy hurried over to talk to Samantha as soon as she arrived. Samantha and June were always early, and Nick usually showed up a few minutes after Judy, giving her just enough time to get the information she wanted.

"Sam?" Judy said.

"Hi, Judy," Samantha replied, barely looking up from the book in her paws.

"I wanted to ask you about that…thing you were talking about yesterday," Judy pressed.

Samantha sighed.

"You mean the Trust Ritual?" she guessed.

"Yes, that," Judy confirmed.

"Your predator friend clearly doesn't want you to know," Samantha remarked.

"How do you know that?" Judy asked, a little suspiciously. "Maybe he was just uncomfortable with the story for some reason. Unless…since you know what it is, do you think there's a reason Nick wouldn't want me to know?"

"Well, after seeing you in that play, I can imagine…" Samantha muttered sarcastically.

"Ok, that's it!" Judy exclaimed. "What are you hiding? What does the play even have to do with this at all? I want to know!"

Finally, Samantha set her book down and looked Judy in the eyes.

"Fine," she said. "If you really want to know, I can't stop you. It's not like it's a secret or anything. If you lived in Zootopia, you would probably already know. But…I can't tell you. Ask one of your older brothers or sisters; that's how I heard about it."

"And _why_ can't you tell me?" Judy inquired.

Samantha looked around the classroom for a moment, before leaning over to whisper in Judy's ear.

"I don't your friend to be angry with me," she said.

"What…?" Judy replied. "You mean…are you _still_ worried he might eat you—"

"Shh!" Samantha urged, before leaning in to whisper again. "Look, if you're comfortable hanging out with predators, then go ahead! But I don't mess around with foxes and I will _never_ let my guard down with one! They aren't like us, and you shouldn't assume you know everything they're capable of!"

Judy stopped, unsure of what to say. She hadn't expected Samantha to go off on her like that, so she didn't have a comeback prepared. She was both worried for her friend at realizing just how she really was, and also angry at her for implying all predators had sinister intentions. She really _wanted_ to say something, but she didn't know what would work.

" _She's…actually_ scared _of him,"_ Judy realized. _"Not just frightened, but actually scared. How can she possibly think all predators are like that?! Foxes aren't that different from us; they just happen to_ look _different! But…how can I get her to understand that?"_

Feeling a little dazed, Judy walked away and took her seat; for a moment, she had completely forgotten why she was talking to Samantha in the first place. It looked like she wasn't going to get the information she wanted out of _that_ bunny…but she already knew exactly who she would ask next. Hopefully, the bunny she had in mind would tell her what she wanted to know.

* * *

The next day was Saturday, so when Judy woke up, most of her siblings that shared her room were still asleep. Judy had always been somewhat of an early riser, but today she had even more reason to get up as early as possible. She had questions that needed answering, and she knew just who she would ask.

So, getting out of bed, she hurried out of her room and down the hall to another door. Without hesitation, she rapidly knocked on the door, then stepped back and waited. A few seconds passed, and the door opened to reveal a very tired cream colored bunny.

"Judy…?" Chloe said drowsily, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "You know what day it is, right…? Is there something you—"

"I need to ask you something, Chloe," Judy quickly explained.

"Huh…?" Chloe replied. "What is it? Something Mom or Dad could handle—"

"Um, I really would rather ask _you_ ," Judy said.

"Ok…" Chloe said, blinking several times to adjust her eyes to the light, before turning back to face her sister. "What is it?"

"Do you know about something called a 'Trust Ritual'?" Judy asked. "My friend Samantha was talking about it, but she wouldn't tell me what it was—"

"Oh!" Chloe exclaimed, her eyes brightening up all of a sudden. "Yeah, I learned about that in history class. I can tell you all about it; just give me a minute to get dressed, and we'll talk while I pick blueberries."

Before Judy could reply, Chloe rushed back inside her bedroom and closed the door. Judy stood in the hallway for a few seconds, wondering how long it would take her sister to get dressed. The way Chloe had reacted to hearing about the Trust Ritual also seemed a little weird, but Judy figured she wouldn't understand until she got all the information.

" _She's not just hoping I'll walk away, right?"_ Judy thought. _"Is she trying to avoid telling me just like Samantha—?"_

Just then, the door swung open and Chloe hurried out, quietly closing it behind her so as not to wake anyone. Then, she turned to Judy with an excited look on her face.

"Ready?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Um…sure," Judy replied, visibly confused. "So…any reason you can't tell me here…?"

Chloe frowned.

"It's more fun explaining stuff when you have blueberries," she replied simply.

With that explanation in mind, Chloe led the way down the hall towards the door, and Judy followed her outside into the fresh morning air. It was still early enough that Bonnie and Stu weren't up, which Judy supposed made it the perfect time for her older sister to sneak more blueberries without them knowing.

" _How often does she come out here and pick blueberries when we're not looking?"_ Judy wondered.

"So…" Judy started as they approached the blueberries, "are you going to tell me, or…?"

"Right!" Chloe said. "You said you wanted to know about the Trust Ritual, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Judy confirmed. "Samantha mentioned it and Nick seemed to know what it was, but he wouldn't let her tell me."

Chloe chuckled.

"Huh, I wonder why that would be," she said thoughtfully. "Well, anyway, the Trust Ritual is supposedly something that happened at Zootopia's founding, but no one's really sure anymore if it was actually real. Either way, it's a pretty cool story, in my opinion. So, you know how predators and prey used to be mortal enemies, right?"

"Um…yeah, everyone knows that," Judy replied. "And then they made peace when Zootopia was founded."

"Exactly," Chloe said. "So, the story says that, even when the mammals wanted peace, predators and prey still didn't quite trust each other. The predators still weren't convinced that the prey would accept them, and the prey…well, they were basically still afraid of being eaten. So, they came up with the Trust Ritual as a way for each side to demonstrate how they had changed their ways. Each of the species, or at least most of them, chose a representative to perform the ritual."

"So, what exactly _is_ the ritual?" Judy pressed.

"Hold on; I'm getting there!" Chloe laughed, picking a few blueberries as she continued her story. "There were an equal number of predators and prey chosen for the ritual, and each prey was paired with whichever species of predator they had the worst animosity with. For example, wolves and deer, foxes and rabbits…you get the picture. Anyway, the ritual itself was pretty simple. The prey would expose their neck to the predator, and the predator would…sort of bite them? But not, like, enough to injure them or anything. And then—"

"And _how_ is that supposed to be a sign of trust?" Judy wondered aloud.

"You didn't let me finish!" Chloe protested, eating a few blueberries. "At the end, the predator releases the prey and steps back, and the ritual ends. I don't know, they might have shook paws or something too, but that wasn't the interesting part so I didn't pay attention. But the idea was that the prey demonstrates that they trust the predator by allowing themselves to be in such a vulnerable position, and the predator shows that they value the prey's life and aren't mindless savages or anything by not taking advantage of their position, and also by releasing them at the end. That's the general idea, anyway. But historians don't really know if the story's true or not."

Lost in thought, Judy didn't reply right away. She still didn't understand why Nick wouldn't have wanted her to hear about it.

" _Maybe because it makes him think about the negative attitude some prey have about predators?"_ she thought. _"Does it remind him too much of all the prey who've mistreated him?"_

As she was pondering these thoughts, something else occurred to Judy. She turned to her sister, who was currently stuffing her face with blueberries.

"How did you remember that story so well?" Judy asked. "From what Mom says, you don't pay much attention in class."

"Why did you ask me if you thought I wouldn't know?" Chloe countered.

"Um…" Judy said, realizing she was unsure of the answer herself. "I guess because it had to do with Nick, and you and Peter are some of the only ones who've never looked at me like I'm crazy for being friends with him. Well, and Mallory, but I figured she wouldn't know if I didn't already."

"Fair enough," Chloe conceded.

"So?" Judy inquired again. "Why are you so interested in that story?"

"Are you kidding?" Chloe laughed. "Because it's _cool_! Not that there's anything wrong with bunnies, but…predators are so much cooler! Those fangs look so incredible… I sometimes wish I lived back then, so I could participate in the ritual. Can you imagine what it would be like, having a predator's fangs so close to your neck…?"

"Um…terrifying?" Judy suggested, really not sure what else to say.

"I think _'exhilarating'_ is a better description," Chloe replied, lightly touching a paw to her neck as if trying to imagine the scenario.

Judy gave her sister a look somewhere between confused and disturbed, but Chloe was preoccupied staring wistfully off into space. In a few seconds, she snapped out of it and turned back to face her younger sister.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was…imagining. Carrots and celery, why does real life have to be so _boring_?"

"Do you seriously want a predator to bite your neck?" Judy asked.

"Yes, definitely," Chloe said flatly.

"… _Ok_ , then…" Judy replied, starting to feel very uncomfortable. "Well…I guess I should go back inside now. Thanks for telling me the story."

"No problem!" Chloe replied through a mouthful of blueberries. "Hey, if you need to know anything else predator-related, I'd be glad to help you!"

"I'll…keep that in mind," Judy answered, before turning and heading back to the burrow.

" _Why does she like predators so much?"_ Judy wondered. _"Well, I guess she does have a point that they're pretty cool, and we don't see very many of them around here. And yeah, their fangs are neat too, but…why on Earth would she want to be bitten? That's weird."_

* * *

In the days to come, the tensions between Judy's friends slowly began to lessen more and more. Before long, instead of Judy sitting with different friends every day at lunch, she was regularly sitting with Nick as well as her other friends, with few complaints from any of them. It seemed like Nick was finally beginning to get comfortable around the others, and they in turn seemed less apprehensive of him. Even Samantha was reasonably polite to him now, though she still sat farthest from him and acted somewhat cautious.

With Nick starting to feel more comfortable, Judy held back from asking him about the Trust Ritual. He still didn't realize she knew the story, and since she didn't know why he was so uncomfortable about it in the first place, she didn't want to take any chances by bringing it up. Despite this, for the first few weeks, she was _dying_ to ask him about it. For some reason, she just couldn't seem to get it off her mind, and her curiosity almost led her to just ask Nick about it anyway.

For weeks, it seemed the Trust Ritual story just would not leave Judy's mind alone. But as time went on, other thoughts made their way in and her interest in the story began to fade. There were other things on her mind, and she wasn't as worried about asking Nick why it made him uncomfortable anymore.

But soon enough, the fall semester ended and it was time for winter break. James was ecstatic about having time off from school, but Judy felt oddly disappointed. She had been having so much fun with Nick and all of her other friends, and even having to wait a few weeks to see them again seemed almost unbearable.

Judy refused to wait that long. About two or three days without school and she was already begging her parents to invite the Wildes over again.

"I don't know, Judy," Bonnie had said. "They're probably busy right now, with the holidays coming up. Maybe sometime next month."

But Judy was persistent. If there was one thing she never did, it was give up. And with no school to keep her busy, she followed Bonnie all over the house all day, coming up with every possible reason she could think of why Nick's family should come over, and eventually the mother bunny just couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, alright," she finally said. "I'll call May and ask her if they're busy. Now, if you have anything else to say, _please_ go and tell your father."

Excited, Judy had immediately hurried outside to celebrate the occasion by bouncing around the farm. She eventually ended up eating blueberries with Chloe, again.

When Judy returned to the burrow, Bonnie had relayed the news that Nick's family would indeed be coming over to visit in a little more than a week. Unable to contain her excitement once again, Judy had spent the rest of the evening bouncing around the house with Mallory. James spent most of it whining, and eventually he got into a pillow fight with Chloe. Judy was pretty sure he lost, but she didn't stick around to watch.

Finally, after waiting what felt like forever, the day of the visit had arrived. Judy woke up early, as always, excitedly jumped out of the bed, and rushed out of the bedroom before James had the chance to complain about wanting to sleep.

In the kitchen, several of Judy's siblings were eating cereal, including Mallory. Bonnie was in the living room, trying to watch the news on TV, but Judy imagined it wasn't easy with all of the loud kits nearby.

"Judy!" Mallory exclaimed happily. "Are you excited about today? I'm so so so so _so_ excited; I can't _wait_ to see Brendan again! Mom said we can go pick some blueberries too!"

"That's great, Mallory!" Judy replied. "Hey, Mom, is it ok if I go wait for them outside?"

"Sure; go ahead," Bonnie said. "I think Peter's out there trying to help your father fix the car. Just make sure you put your coat on first. It's cold today."

"Ok; thanks, Mom!" Judy replied.

She quickly ran back to her room to retrieve her coat, and then put it on and headed back to the front door. Opening the door, she stepped outside into the chilly morning air, relieved that Bonnie had reminded her to wear a coat. It was even colder than yesterday, which had been one of the coldest days this winter.

Sure enough, Stu and Peter were standing over by the car, and Stu was in the process of explaining something Judy thought sounded very complicated. When he saw Judy, he smiled and waved. Peter turned around to wave too.

"Hey, Jude!" Stu called.

"Hi, Dad!" Judy replied, waving back. "Hi, Peter! I'm going to wait for—"

She stopped, her ears having just picked up a sound coming from the driveway. Stu and Peter must have noticed it too, as they both turned to look that direction. Just as Judy was hoping, a car was pulling up to the house, one she recognized as the Wildes'. As soon as the car parked, one of the back doors opened up and Nick got out.

"Hi!" Judy said happily, running up to her friend. "Do you want to go look around the farm again? We can go back to the blueberries, too."

"Go ahead," May Wilde said to her son as she exited the car. "I'm going to take Brendan inside, we'll be there when you're done out here."

"Ok, thanks," Nick replied. "Well, in that case…yes, I'll come with you, Judy."

"Yay!" Judy exclaimed. "Alright, follow me!"

With that, she took off running across the yard, Nick following behind her. Looking back, she saw that May was leading Brendan inside, while John was standing by the car and talking to Stu. It really was amazing how alike the two were, despite being very different species.

"So…" Judy said, after she and Nick were a good distance away from the others. "Nick, there's…something I've been meaning to ask you about."

"What is it?" Nick inquired, looking concerned. "You look nervous, Judy. Is everything ok?"

"I got my sister to tell me about the Trust Ritual!" Judy blurted out. "And I know you didn't want to talk about it and Samantha wouldn't tell me but I really wanted to know what it was and I don't know why you didn't want me to know and I'm sorry if you're mad that I went and asked but I was really curious and—"

"Whoa, calm down!" Nick interrupted. "So…you're saying your sister told you the story? The… _whole_ story?"

"Um…yeah," Judy said. "Well, I _think_ it was the whole story. She told me about how the ritual worked and that they did it so each side could prove they had really changed their minds about each other."

"Wait," Nick said. "Is that… _all_ your sister told you?"

"Well, I think so," Judy replied. "Was there something else I was supposed to know?"

Nick sighed deeply, looking down at the ground. He placed a paw on his forehead as if he had some kind of headache. Clearly, there was something else about the story that Chloe hadn't told Judy, something significant.

"Did your sister tell you anything about the mammals that performed the ritual?" Nick asked.

"She said there was a predator and a prey in each one," Judy answered. "And they all had to perform the ritual with the species they were enemies with."

"Including foxes and rabbits," Nick added.

"Yeah, I figured so," Judy said, laughing slightly.

Nick looked at her with a solemn expression, as if he was a thousand years older than her and had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations or something like that. Judy was getting more confused with every minute; _what_ had Chloe not told her?

"You really don't know, do you?" Nick asked. "Your sister didn't tell you how the ritual went for…our species?"

" _Oh no,"_ Judy thought, the realization hitting her. _"But that couldn't be…! Isn't that exactly what they were trying to avoid when they came up with the ritual?"_

"Nick, you don't mean…?" Judy said.

"Yes," Nick confirmed, shame evident on his face. "The rabbits trusted the foxes enough to send one of their own, but the foxes…they still hadn't changed their minds about the rabbits. They just saw the ritual as another chance to…"

He stopped, unable to finish the story. He didn't need to, though, as Judy understood exactly what he was talking about.

" _No wonder he didn't want to talk about it!"_ she realized, suddenly feeling bad that she had pressed him about it. _"He really shouldn't feel bad about it, though. It happened thousands of years ago, and no one even knows if the story is true or not."_

"Anyway," Nick continued, trying to regain his composure. "If you ever wonder why no one trusts foxes…"

"It's still not fair," Judy said. "That's a really old story and no one knows if it's even true or not."

"It would explain why everyone thinks foxes are untrustworthy," Nick said. "And also why some mammals think rabbits are…um…"

"Dumb bunnies," Judy finished. "It's ok; I've heard that a hundred times before."

"It's clearly not true, though; you're one of the smartest mammals I know," Nick replied.

"Aw, that's nice of you to say," Judy said. "But if you look at my brother James, it's not hard to guess where that stereotype came from."

Nick chuckled slightly, which helped to ease the tension. Both kits continued walking in silence for several minutes, until something occurred to Judy.

"Hey, Nick?" she said.

"Yeah?" Nick replied.

"Does this mean that foxes and rabbits never got to…you know, formally say goodbye to the 'old ways' and everything?" Judy asked. "I mean, like all the other animals who did the ritual did?"

"Well, I've never heard of a fox and a rabbit performing the ritual again, so probably," Nick answered. "Why do you…?"

Suddenly, he seemed to realize what she was getting at, and turned around to face her.

"No time like the present, right?" Judy said, laughing awkwardly.

"You…you actually want to do the Trust Ritual?" Nick asked. "Right…now?"

Judy nodded.

"But…Judy, I could _hurt_ you!" Nick protested. "Maybe we could just shake paws or something instead…?"

Judy frowned.

"Nick, you're not going to hurt me," she insisted. "If _I_ trust you, then why don't you trust _yourself_? If this is about what happened with my paw, that was _my_ stupid fault, and I'm not going to do that this time. Look, if you really don't want to, it's ok…I just thought we should try to fix what our ancestors got wrong."

"No…it's ok," Nick replied. "Just…let's get it over with."

Judy smiled, then took both of Nick's paws in her own, trying to calm his nerves. Wasting no time, she closed her eyes as she tilted her head back, exposing her neck.

"Whenever you're ready, Nick," she said.

A few seconds passed, and Judy soon felt the tips of Nick's fangs against her neck. The experience frightened her more than she'd counted on, but she trusted her friend and she knew he would never hurt her, so she held still and waited until he released her.

Judy opened her eyes, surprised that it was already over. Lightly touching her neck with her paw, she realized she wasn't even hurt. Her eyes then fell on Nick, who looked like he'd just had to disarm a nuclear bomb.

" _He must have been so scared, thinking he might hurt me!"_ Judy realized. _"Maybe I shouldn't have asked him to do this… I hope it didn't upset him too much."_

"Judy…" Nick said, "can you promise me you won't tell anyone else about this? I…don't know how your parents would feel if they knew I almost bit you."

"No, we don't have to tell anyone," Judy replied. "But…it does kind of feel like we've done something important, doesn't it?"

"I guess you're right," Nick agreed. "We did what our ancestors couldn't do. I don't blame you for being scared, though."

"What?" Judy said. "I wasn't—"

" _Judy_ ," Nick said flatly, "I can tell. Foxes—we can smell it. You didn't know that?"

"I guess I didn't think about it," Judy sighed, defeated. "I can't hide that from you, then, can I?"

"No," Nick confirmed. "I just wanted you to know I don't blame you for it, so… Anyway, it's not your fault, so please just don't worry yourself about it. If it makes you feel any better, I was scared too, just now…"

"It doesn't mean that I don't trust you!" Judy explained. "I don't _want_ to be scared of you, Nick; I just don't know how to change it."

Nick smiled.

"If you trust me and still want to be my friend, then it doesn't matter," he said. "I don't want you to force yourself to be my friend if it makes you uncomfortable, though."

Without hesitation, Judy stepped forward and hugged him. As usual, Nick seemed surprised at first, but he put his arms around her as well. It was impossible to avoid hugging if you were friends with a bunny, anyway.

"Being scared didn't stop me from standing up to Gideon, and it won't stop me from being your friend either," Judy said firmly. "I'm not going anywhere."

She stepped back and paused for a moment.

"And don't you _ever_ blame yourself for this, even for one second," Judy continued, her voice becoming forceful, "because no matter what, my fear is _not_ your fault. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I don't…I don't want to see you hurt because of me."

At those last words, Judy felt a few tears stinging her eyes, and had to stop. Having noticed her crying, Nick pulled her close and embraced her again, wrapping his tail around her as well. In that moment, Judy realized she didn't feel afraid at all to be so close to the fox.

A few seconds passed, and Judy heard Nick chuckle to himself.

"What's funny?" she inquired curiously.

"To think…the sweet little bunny was worried about hurting _me_ , the big, strong predator," Nick remarked.

Judy giggled, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"You know what I meant," she said.

"Of course I know what you mean," Nick laughed. "But you don't have to worry so much about me, either. I can protect myself, you know. Not that I mind you standing up for me!"

"I know, Nick," Judy replied. "I don't think either of us are helpless, but…I think we're better off together, don't you?"

Nick smiled.

"Yeah, definitely," he agreed. "Now, if we're all done with that touchy-feely bunny stuff, I think _someone_ promised this fox some blueberries."

Judy laughed and stepped back, wiping away the last of the tears.

"Right this way," she said, holding out her paw.

Nick carefully took her paw and followed her as she led them back towards the blueberries. A cold breeze blew across their faces as they walked, neither one knowing quite how important this day would come to be, but both having a sense that better days were soon to come.

Was everything going to change?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, what did you think? I really hope it made sense. My mind is a truly strange place most of the time.
> 
> Wow, I've been wanting to write about that 'Trust Ritual' idea for a long time! I came up with that years ago, and I don't even know if I was thinking about Zootopia when I first had the idea. It was also part of one of my original stories (which I still haven't written), but I can't remember for sure if that was the first time I thought of it. Either way, I've known for a while now that it would eventually be a part of this story, too.
> 
> I feel like I should say something else, but I can't think of anything at the moment, so I guess that's all.
> 
> Stay safe, and I'll see you all for the next chapter!


	11. Ignorance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It has been way too long. I seriously can't believe it's been over three months since I updated this story. I honestly never thought something like this would happen, so I'll just take this moment to apologize to everyone who's been reading this story. Life has been crazy for me for a while now, and I feel like I'm just now starting to get back to a stable state of mind.
> 
> June was horrible. I won't go into detail as to why this time, but it was the worst month of what, honestly, hasn't been a very great year. July, though, was a huge relief. I basically went into what I called 'therapy' which isn't actual therapy, but rather just reorganizing my life in a way that allowed me to calm down. It was something I so desperately needed, and now I'm starting to get my life back together in so many ways. I have multiple writing projects (including this one) that are going to keep me busy for a while, so I'm going to try my best to not just give up and sink into depression again.
> 
> I don't think I realized back in March how hard on me this whole COVID-19 thing would be. I've never really thought I was that much of a social person, but after months of sitting at home and slowly losing my sanity, I find myself missing places I used to go before the pandemic. I miss going to my homeschool group, I miss going to Starbucks with Zephyr Fyrian, and so many other things. Nothing is the same anymore and I have no idea when this madness is going to end.
> 
> But I'm going to keep writing, because it's the one thing that seems to keep me sane.
> 
> It makes me so happy that you all enjoyed Chapter 10 so much! I loved writing that chapter and it's probably my favorite part of the story so far. Rest assured the Trust Ritual will be relevant to the story again...eventually. I was really excited about that concept and I'm glad it was so well-received! Note to self: careful not to get so excited by fun concepts that you forget blueberries don't grow in the middle of winter...
> 
> Also, I don't want to make any promises about 'uPdAtInG tHe StOrY mOrE oFtEn NoW' since that hasn't worked out so well in the past, but I am going to try my best to update as often as I can. I predict it will probably be slow at first, as I try to figure out what needs to happen in the immediate future, but I do have a lot of plans for stuff that's going to happen later on so the writing speed should hopefully pick up by then. Fingers crossed, again...
> 
> P.S. I saw someone say somewhere that 'XD' was a 'girl thing'? So logically, I'm just going to keep on doing it, because screw gender stereotypes. XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD
> 
> And now I'm going to stop this endless rambling and let you read the story. Enjoy!

The rest of winter break blurred by as Judy mulled over the events that transpired during Nick's last visit. She knew she couldn't risk telling anyone, but it took all of her willpower to keep it hidden. It had been such an unusual experience, and the more she thought back on it, the more it began to feel like some kind of crazy dream.

The difference was, of course, that memories of dreams became fuzzy and undefined as time went on, but this memory did not. It was a real piece of history now, and nothing could change that.

" _So, why do I sometimes get the shivers when I think about it?"_ Judy wondered.

She had briefly considered telling Chloe what had happened, but hesitated. Of all the bunnies in the Hopps burrow, Chloe seemed the least likely to be upset by what happened; after all, she'd been pretty interested in the Trust Ritual herself. But on the other paw, she _was_ Judy's older sister, and she might be worried if she knew that her little sister was letting predators bite her. Or she might not react at all. Chloe had always been kind of unpredictable.

Either way, the holidays soon took Judy's attention away from the Trust Ritual, and she easily put those concerns out of her mind for a while. By the time January came back around, she had already more or less moved on from the whole thing. School was starting back, and it seemed life would start getting back to normal.

When the first day of school came, Judy was up and out of bed early, as usual. She heard the sounds of James moaning as she climbed out of the bed and headed out of the room. Unsurprisingly, the kitchen was already filled with several of her siblings, including her little sister Mallory. Bonnie was rushing around the room, getting all of the younger bunnies ready for school, while Stu was sitting in his recliner and watching the news.

" _Ah, just another regular school day,"_ Judy thought as she entered the room.

"Judy!" Mallory said, running up to see her sister. "It's school day! Are you excited?"

"Yep!" Judy replied cheerily. "Are you ready to go back and see your friend Brendan?"

"Yay!" Mallory exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.

Judy smiled; she was always impressed by how unaffected her little sister was by the rampant prejudice here in Bunnyburrow. Unlike most of Judy's siblings, Mallory didn't seem to have anything against foxes or even predators in general, nor did she appear to be fully aware of how widespread those negative attitudes were.

Now that she thought about it, she realized Nick's little brother Brendan was much the same in that regard. From what Mallory had said, it seemed Brendan had yet to experience any of Nick's self-conscious feelings about being a predator.

Just then, Judy heard some more familiar voices coming from down the hall.

"You're _weird_ , Chloe!" announced the whiny voice of Judy's brother, James.

"Sure am," Chloe replied in her casual tone, just as the two bunnies came into view. "Being normal is for nerds. Hey, Judy, have you seen—"

"Ugh!" James moaned, running away from Chloe to join the other siblings in the kitchen. "Stop following me!"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, like I'd follow _you_ around," she said. Then, turning to Judy, she asked, "Have you seen Peter yet today?"

"No, I don't think so…?" Judy answered, checking around the room to see if her older brother was anywhere to be seen.

"Oh well, he's probably outside already," Chloe sighed. "Seriously, I don't know why he won't just let me read it…"

"Read… _what_?" Judy asked, genuinely confused.

"His history papers," Chloe answered, as if it was obvious. "Apparently in his class, they've been learning about the war; you know, the last one before Zootopia was founded and everyone made peace?"

"So…" Judy said slowly, "why exactly are you so desperate to read that?"

Chloe rolled her eyes again, letting out a sigh. Clearly, she was going to have to start from the beginning.

"There were _predators_ in that war, Judy!" she explained. "I barely _ever_ get to learn anything about predator history in class, other than that Trust Ritual story. They probably think 'little' bunnies like me can't handle hearing about 'scary' predators… Ugh, I can't wait three more years!"

With that, the cream colored bunny hurried out of the room, headed for the front door. Peter usually liked to go outside in the morning before going to school, to 'clear his mind' or something like that, so Chloe was probably going to pester him into letting her read his homework.

Interestingly enough, the exchange was the first time Judy had been reminded of the Trust Ritual in several weeks, and she suddenly realized today would be the first time she'd see Nick since their visit. She hoped it wouldn't make things awkward.

"Mallory, put that down!" James complained from nearby.

"No!" Mallory replied. "I want—"

And then she was interrupted by the sound of loud music coming from somewhere in the back of the house. As expected, Bonnie went storming down the hallway toward the noise, before the rest of the kits quickly returned to their usual morning chaos.

Sighing, Judy headed for the front door, figuring she might need to take Peter's advice and clear her mind before school. Knowing her friends, she knew there would probably be some kind of drama, so it would be nice to at least get a short break first.

" _At least no one else knows about what happened during Nick's last visit,"_ she thought. _"That's one secret everyone doesn't need to know."_

* * *

It felt strange, in some ways, coming back to school for the first time since the Trust Ritual. It was as if some invisible barrier had been broken down through that event, and Judy felt almost like a different bunny than she had been in the fall. Perhaps it was because so little often changed in the quiet town of Bunnyburrow. It was amazing to think that Nick and Judy might have just made history in such a small, secluded corner of the world, doing something their ancestors had failed to do so many years ago.

And still, no one knew. Not one mammal other than Nick and Judy themselves knew what had transpired during winter break, and at least for now, they would keep it that way.

"Judy?" said a familiar voice.

"Sharla!" Judy exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around her friend. "How was your winter break?"

"Um, pretty good, actually," Sharla answered. "It was nice to relax for a while. By the way…have you talked to Samantha in a while?"

"No, not since before the holidays," Judy replied. "I tried to ask her about that Trust Ritual thing, but she was acting really weird about it…"

Sharla shifted a bit, as if the subject made her slightly uncomfortable.

"I actually asked one of my older brothers about that…" she said nervously. "I…wish I hadn't. Did…did anyone tell you?"

"Chloe," Judy confirmed. "She seemed really excited by it for some reason. I don't know, I didn't think the story was that weird. I don't know why Sam acted like it's such a big secret."

Shivering somewhat, Sharla looked at Judy in awe.

"You mean…it didn't scare you?" she asked. "Not even a little?"

Until now, Judy hadn't really considered how the story might sound to any of her other friends, but in retrospect it made sense that Sharla would have been uncomfortable hearing about it. While she wasn't as apprehensive of predators as Samantha, or James, the idea of being bitten by one was likely still terrifying to her.

"No, it didn't scare me," Judy said. "I mean, I'm sure I would be scared if I had to _do_ it…"

" _Not entirely true,"_ Judy thought, _"but I don't want her to think she's the only one with fears. Besides, if she knew Nick bit me, she'd probably be freaking out about it for months."_

Sharla smiled, relaxing a bit.

"Yeah," she laughed nervously. "I'm glad we didn't do that in the play. Well…I guess I'll see you at lunch, Judy."

* * *

As he stepped into the cafeteria with Judy for the first time since the visit, Nick was feeling noticeably uncomfortable. For some reason, though he knew none of the other kits should know what had happened, he couldn't stop thinking about the Trust Ritual.

" _Alright, Nick,"_ he told himself, _"you need to stop worrying about that. Just…be cool. No one will ever have to know what happened…"_

Taking a deep breath and making a promise to himself to keep his cool today, Nick followed Judy through the line. Samantha and June were already ahead of them, and Sharla had just come in behind Nick. Before long, the five were sitting at their table, Judy sitting between Nick and Sharla, and Samantha sitting as far from Nick as possible.

"Hi, guys; sorry I'm late!" said a familiar voice from behind them.

Turning around, Nick saw Judy's other friend Clara, and an unfamiliar brownish gray bunny.

" _There_ you are," Samantha said. "I was worried you might have transferred again."

"No," Clara laughed. "Dad says there shouldn't be any more moving…at least not anytime soon. I was just showing Mark here around. His family just moved here from Deerbrooke."

"Um, hi, everyone," Mark mumbled, barely looking up.

"Hi!" Judy replied cheerily. "It's really nice to meet you. I'm Judy, and these are my friends…"

She proceeded to introduce the rest of the mammals at the table, ending with Nick. When Mark glanced at him, Nick felt himself flinch slightly. Seeing this new bunny, he was reminded of his encounter with James Hopps back in the fall, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

" _Stop!"_ he internally berated himself. _"If he's afraid of you, there's nothing you can do to change that. But there's_ no _reason for_ you _to be uncomfortable because someone else is afraid. Why should a fox be afraid of a bunny?"_

"Hi, guys," Mark said, a little more audible this time. His eyes were quickly darting around, glancing at everyone, as if he wasn't quite sure who he was supposed to look at.

"Here, you can sit next to me," Clara said, pulling out a chair next to June and taking a seat.

Still glancing around nervously, Mark quietly took his seat by Clara and began to eat his lunch. The rest of the lunch period went by uneventfully; Mark barely said a word and Nick's thoughts were elsewhere. He kept glancing at Judy, for some reason feeling embarrassed. He didn't understand why, but somehow it was as if the Trust Ritual had now made him even more self-conscious about being a predator. He would have thought he was over that by now, but being here today and seeing Judy for the first time since his last visit…

Nick was relieved when lunch time was finally over. Without a word, he left the cafeteria and headed back to class.

* * *

Judy was just about to leave for the day when she came face to face with a familiar white bunny. As usual, Samantha looked mildly irritated. Judy could only guess what she might be upset about _this_ time.

"So I heard you found out," she said.

Judy sighed.

"I'm guessing you're talking about the Trust Ritual?" Judy guessed. "The story _you_ refused to tell me? Yes, I found out. Anything else you want to add?"

Without waiting for a response, she walked past her friend and started heading for the bus. Maybe it was a little harsh, but at this point she was beginning to get impatient with Samantha's attitude. Part of her would much rather be dealing with her brother James, or even Gideon Grey for that matter.

"Judy!" Samantha scolded, running up to join her friend. "Why are you so upset?"

Judy stopped, let out a heavy sigh, and turned to face the other bunny.

"First, you wouldn't tell me the story about the Trust Ritual because you're still convinced my friend wants to eat you," she said. "And now you're angry at me because I went and asked Chloe about it? What was I supposed to do? You were all keeping secrets from me—"

"It's not my fault!" Samantha cried, her voice breaking slightly. "The reason I didn't tell you is because…"

She looked around frantically, as if making sure no one was listening. Despite Judy's frustration, she couldn't help but feel a little bad for her friend; whatever happened had clearly upset her more than Judy had realized.

"Hey, it's ok," Judy said, softening slightly. "Why don't we go over by the trees and you can tell me?"

Samantha looked up, her green eyes starting to tear up. She nodded, and Judy held her paw and led them over to the edge of the school parking lot. There were several tall trees in the grass, providing a perfect spot to sit and talk. Judy was a little worried she might miss the bus if they waited too long, but right now she was more concerned with her friend.

"Alright," Judy said as they sat down under the shade of one of the trees, "so, what's going on? Anything you can tell me?"

"I…I didn't tell you the story because…um…" Samantha started, but hesitated.

"Yes, I know, because you thought Nick would try to eat you or something," Judy replied, trying her best not to get angry again. "But I actually talked to Nick about it and I don't think he's mad at you for—"

"That's not the real reason…" Samantha said, burying her face in her paws as if feeling ashamed.

"Then…what is it?" Judy pressed. "If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to, but you seem really upset about it. I just want to help you."

Samantha took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes, pausing for a moment before looking directly at Judy.

"I didn't want to tell you that story because it terrified me," she said honestly. "The…the story, I mean. When I first overheard my older siblings talking about it…well, that was a few years ago…and I couldn't sleep for weeks…"

Her voice starting to break again, Samantha stopped talking. Judy placed a paw on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. It was odd, seeing Samantha like this; she always seemed so confident.

"I'm sorry, Sam, I didn't know," Judy replied softly. "But…if you don't mind me asking…if it scares you so much, then why did you mention it at lunch that day?"

"I…I don't know," Samantha admitted. "I guess I was just trying to seem brave, like I wasn't really scared anymore. I mean…I don't think I really was until…um…"

Samantha quickly shut her eyes as they began to fill with tears. Judy wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close, all concerns about missing the bus now completely forgotten. All she wanted was to make sure her friend was ok.

"I had a nightmare…" Samantha finally said, her voice still weak and choked up. "The night after that day when I mentioned… I don't remember most of it, but…it was…I mean…I dreamed about the Trust Ritual story, but it was you and…"

"Me and Nick?" Judy guessed, trying to connect the dots in her mind.

"Yes," Samantha confirmed. "And you…he…I mean…it was just like what happened in the story…"

"I understand," Judy consoled, deciding she definitely wasn't going to say anything about what happened during Nick's last visit _now_. "But you know, Nick would never do something like that to me."

Samantha slowly pulled away from Judy, wiping the tears from her eyes again, and trying to regain her composure. After a few seconds, she spoke again.

"Maybe he wouldn't _mean_ to, Judy," she said, "but sometimes…predators can't stop themselves. I just…I just think it would be better if you wouldn't get so close to him…"

"That's not true!" Judy blurted out, more harshly than she had intended. "I…what do you mean, they can't 'stop themselves'? Just because he's a predator doesn't mean he wants to hurt me, or anyone else!"

"You don't know that!" Samantha retorted. "Did you see how the f—I mean, Nick looked when he scared your brother? It's like he was _enjoying_ it!"

"Pfft, I would have enjoyed that too," Judy replied.

"You're not listening!" Samantha insisted, standing up suddenly.

"I'm listening just fine," Judy replied, standing up and looking her friend directly in the eye. "You hate predators and think all they want to do is eat the rest of us. I don't need to hear anything else."

With that, she started back towards the bus, her sympathy for Samantha quickly slipping away.

"They're not like us, Judy; they're dangerous!" Samantha called after her. "I'm sorry, but it's not safe to be so close to predators! Think how your friend would feel if he accidentally hurt you! I don't hate predators, but predators and prey weren't meant to be friends! We're not designed that way…"

Judy took a deep breath and tried to tame the rage that was building inside her, before turning around to face Samantha one more time.

"How can you say you don't hate predators?!" Judy shouted, not even caring anymore if the entire school heard. "Do you _hear_ yourself?! What do you mean we're not _meant_ to be friends?! So, just because Nick has claws and fangs, I can't be _friends_ with him?!"

"Judy, I'm sorry," Samantha said, "but—"

"SHUT UP!" Judy shrieked. "I don't want to hear it!"

Wasting no time, she quickly turned around and ran towards the bus, her emotions threatening to explode inside her if she didn't calm down soon.

But she couldn't calm down. Even as she rode the bus home, she couldn't stop thinking about the argument.

That night, she lay awake in bed, her mind refusing to accept what had transpired. She had known that Samantha wasn't comfortable around predators, but still…it hurt to hear such harsh words from someone she considered a close friend.

" _How can she think predators and prey aren't meant to be friends?"_ Judy wondered. _"Just because predators are designed to be able to hunt and eat prey? But that doesn't mean they_ have _to! Why should it matter how sharp Nick's teeth are? He's one of the nicest mammals I've ever met and I_ know _he would never hurt me…"_

Unable to get the argument out of her mind, Judy was awake in bed for hours before she her sleepiness finally caught up with her and she fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, Samantha and June were noticeably absent from the group at lunch. As Judy walked to the table with her food, her eyes searched the room for the two bunnies. She finally located them, sitting across the cafeteria…with James.

"Why would they sit with _him_?" Judy wondered, accidentally saying it out loud.

"What do you mean?" Sharla asked, glancing around the room as if trying to figure out what her friend was talking about. "Should I know…?"

Nick, on the other hand, had already spotted Samantha and June sitting with Judy's brother, and gave Judy a look that clearly said, "What do you know that I don't?"

Judy sighed and set her food down on the table, turning back around to face Nick and Sharla.

"Samantha and I had a…little fight yesterday after school," she explained. "I guess she's just being petty, but I didn't think she'd go sit with James because of it…"

Sharla gasped, putting her hooves over her mouth. She wasn't at all a fan of drama, and always got uncomfortable whenever her friends weren't getting along. Nick, on the other paw, had a look of understanding on his face. Knowing Samantha, he probably could have guessed what happened.

"Well…what should we do?" Sharla asked, visibly flustered now. "What did you guys fight about? Should we go over and talk to her and see if we can work it out—?"

"She doesn't want to be friends with us," Judy said bitterly, taking her seat at the table and beginning to eat. "If that's how she wants it to be, then fine."

Nick and Sharla glanced at each other, and Nick shrugged. The two sat down on either side of Judy without any more deliberation and began to eat, but both remained noticeably confused. A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Clara and Mark arrived.

"Hey, everyone," Clara said cheerily, taking her seat before a look of confusion crossed her face. "Where are Samantha and June today?"

"Sitting with _James_ ," Judy answered, saying her brother's name with such distaste that Clara looked almost startled. "Sam's mad at me, so I guess she's decided she doesn't want to sit with us. And she's dragged her sister off with her too."

"Oh, um…ok," Clara said, sitting down uncomfortably. "Why is she mad at you—?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Judy answered flatly, a little more forcefully than she had intended.

She tried her best to ignore her friends' looks of concern as she continued to eat, not wanting to think about Samantha and June right now. Sure, they had argued before, but never quite as passionately as this time, and Judy wasn't sure whether or not they would make up. Ever since coming back to school as Nick's friend, Judy's friendship with Samantha had been a little shaky at best. She had never imagined them growing apart, but…

Finally, as soon as she was finished eating lunch, Judy got up from her seat and ran out of the cafeteria without another word. She didn't stop until reaching the bathroom, where she promptly locked herself inside one of the stalls and sat down on the cold, hard floor to cry. So much had built up inside her since the argument yesterday, and she couldn't hold it in anymore.

She didn't know why she didn't want any of her friends to see her so upset. Maybe it was because a part of her still hadn't quite accepted what had happened, and was hoping Samantha would come to her senses soon and it would all be over. But the worst part was that, whether or not Samantha came around eventually, there was nothing else Judy could do.

" _Why won't you_ listen _to me, Sam?!"_ Judy thought, screaming the words in her mind. _"You've_ met _Nick! You have to know predators aren't all bad! How can you be so—so—?!"_

Feeling emotionally exhausted, Judy finally got up from the floor and headed back out into the hallway. She started back towards the cafeteria, but stopped when she saw Nick running towards her with a group of other students. Lunch must have been over now, and everyone was going back to class.

"Judy!" Nick called, looking relieved when he saw her. "Uh oh…did something happen?"

He stopped by her, a look of deep concern on his snout. In that moment, it took everything Judy had to hold back her tears. After crying her eyes out in the bathroom, seeing Nick looking so concerned about her, so focused on her feelings as the rest of the classmates kept on walking…filled her with so many emotions she felt overwhelmed. And yet, it was a good feeling. She so often felt like she was Nick's protector that she had forgotten he could look out for her, too.

Clenching her eyes shut to stop the tears, Judy threw her arms around Nick, not even caring anymore if anyone else saw. Softly, she felt Nick's arms wrap around her too, his claws so careful not to even scratch her. After a few seconds, they pulled apart and shared a brief glance of understanding, before Judy took a deep breath and they both went to join their classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why, Samantha, why...?
> 
> I promise this entire story isn't just going to be me adding random OCs to Judy's friend group (even though it's kinda starting to feel that way right now). The main reason I added Mark is because I thought it didn't make since that Nick would be the only boy in Judy's friend group. (especially since Judy is a little bit of a tomboy)
> 
> In Chapter 12, this story will hopefully take a break from creating random new characters, and continue with something called 'plot'. (key word: hopefully)
> 
> That's all for now, stay tuned for Chapter 12! (predicted upload date: 2030)


	12. Confidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! Uploaded before 2030!
> 
> For once, I don't actually have a whole lot to say. This chapter was really fun to write and although I've still been having some anxiety off and on, my life hasn't had any major upheavals, so...maybe I'll be posting Chapter 13 before too long? XD
> 
> I do want to take another moment to thank everyone who posted reviews on Chapter 11; that definitely improved my mood, which also gave me the energy I needed to write this chapter! :) You guys are all seriously great and it means a lot to me that you continue reading and enjoying this story. So again, thank you.
> 
> Alright, so the end of the last chapter was kinda...sad. :( It ended very uncertainly, so now it's time to deal with all the aftermath from Judy and Samantha's argument. Will things turn out well for them...or get worse?
> 
> Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading again, now on to the chapter!

Weeks went by without a word from either Samantha or June. The two sisters continued to sit, either by themselves, or occasionally with Judy's brother James.

Nick, meanwhile, continued to sit with Judy, Sharla, and their other friends every day. At first, it was a little weird getting used to Samantha and June's absence, but after some time it began to feel normal. A regular routine began setting in, and any thoughts of reconciliation with Samantha were pushed to the back of everyone's heads.

And then came the day that no one was expecting.

It started out like any regular morning. It was mid-March and still cold outside, the skies currently gray and cloudy. It wasn't raining, but it looked like a downpour could start any minute.

As Nick started to get dressed for school, the only thought on his mind was how bored he was going to be at school today. After the initial fear of being mistreated at school had passed, the days started to blur together in a dull, gray haze. While he enjoyed seeing Judy and the others at school every day, he spent most of his time in a boring classroom, just waiting for the bell to ring. To make things worse, today was Monday, which meant the high from a fun weekend was still fresh, and thus the prospect of going back to school was more dreadful than it would be once the routine had set in again.

Nick considered Judy for a moment as he stepped out of his room and headed down the hallway. Unlike Nick, Judy seemed to enjoy school. Either that, or she was really good at hiding it, and he was pretty sure the latter wasn't the case.

" _Actually, come to think of it,"_ Nick realized, _"it isn't just school that Judy enjoys; she always seems so happy about just…everything. Even when she's upset, she takes it so well. She doesn't give up, she fights her way through everything life throws at her, and leaves everyone else stunned at her optimistic attitude. I don't think she even realizes how much of an effect she has on everyone around her…"_

Nick's internal ramblings about his friend were interrupted when Brendan suddenly burst out of his room and came running down the hall. Nick chuckled, shaking his head. Brendan still seemed to get excited about school on a regular basis.

"Good morning, Nick," May said, washing dishes in the kitchen. "Don't you want to take your coat? It's pretty cold outside, and it might rain later today."

"I don't need a coat," Nick replied, rolling his eyes. "It's almost spring, anyway. I'll be fine."

"Alright, if you say so," May said, sounding unconvinced. "Brendan, you have your coat, right?"

"Yep!" Brendan confirmed.

Nick sat down at the table and ate breakfast quickly, already trying to mentally prepare himself for the hours of boredom that were about to set in. It was yet another dull, gray Monday, and the only thing to look forward to was lunch time.

After finishing breakfast, Nick headed to the door and stepped outside. As soon as he exited the house, he was hit with a wave of cold, moist air, but he refused to go back to get his coat at this point. Having resigned himself to facing the cold, he walked out onto the porch and down the driveway, Brendan following behind him enthusiastically.

" _Here we go again,"_ Nick thought.

* * *

Nick stepped off the bus and started walking towards the school, his mind already distracted. The gray clouds overhead were already getting darker, and for a brief moment Nick thought he felt a raindrop or two. Still, he was too busy dreading the long, monotonous day that was soon to come to pay much attention to the weather. He kept his head down as he walked, no longer out of fear but out of sheer lack of interest.

Nick was almost to the front door of the school when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. At first, he paid it no mind and continued forward, but then his curiosity won out and he stopped to look. To his horror, he saw that, over past the edge of the parking lot, three bunnies seemed to be ganging up on another one. Taken aback, Nick hurried over to the trees to get a better look at the situation, realizing that the lone bunny getting picked on was none other than Clara's friend, Mark.

"Stop!" Mark pleaded, as one of the other bunnies pushed him down, into the mud. "Why are you—?"

"You know why!" one of the other bunnies said, his familiar voice causing Nick to stop right at the edge of the parking lot. "You're a traitor to your species, making friends with that _fox_!"

"W-what?" Mark stammered, trying to pick himself back up only to be knocked back down by another one of the mean bunnies. "Y-you mean Nick Wilde—?"

" _Don't_ say his name," one of the mean bunnies warned harshly.

Taking a deep breath, Nick made his decision quickly. Running straight towards the group of bunnies, he wiped his expression of any emotions other than rage, letting out a snarl to announce his presence. Startled, the other bunnies whirled around to face him, their faces showing a mix of hatred and…fear.

" _They're really afraid of me,"_ Nick realized, taking a moment to breathe in the painfully obvious scent. _"Alright, alright, now don't screw this up, Nick."_

Nick slowly began stepping forward; his heart was pounding from nerves, but he wouldn't dare to let _these_ bunnies see that. He had already done that once, and he did _not_ plan on ever repeating that experience again. Nor did he plan on letting these jerks harm one of his friends. They had officially gone too far.

"You remember me, don't you?" Nick said, smirking as if to seem confident, though internally he was still pretty nervous.

"You—you—" one of the rabbits started, pointing at Nick while glancing nervously around at his companions. "You're the fox from the—"

Nick snarled again, causing the rabbit to jump. Glancing at Mark, Nick saw that he looked just as terrified as the others. Wanting to reassure the shy bunny, Nick winked at him. Seeming to get the message, Mark nodded very subtly, ensuring the others wouldn't notice.

With Mark reassured, Nick returned his attention to the other rabbits. One of them—the one who seemed to be the leader of their little group—was now standing firmly with his arms folded, glaring at Nick.

"Don't mess with us again, fox," he warned.

" _Or_?" Nick challenged, getting so close to the rabbit that he started to back away. "Are you gonna try to muzzle me again? Go ahead; I'd like to see you try."

Nick growled again, this time with his mouth open to show off his fangs. It felt so freeing, displaying his sharp predator teeth as openly as this, not having to feel ashamed or embarrassed by them. For a moment, he actually believed the confidence he was trying to project, completely forgetting the rabbits outnumbered him. After all, he was a predator, and he was not going to let these prey muzzle him…not _this_ time.

" _Come too close and I'll bite you,"_ Nick thought, glaring intently at the rabbit in the lead.

"Alright, fox, you win this time!" the rabbit said, backing off. "B-but you'd better not try to eat us, or we'll muzzle you again!"

With that, he turned and ran around Nick and back towards the parking lot, the other two rabbits following directly behind him. Nick took a moment to make sure they were gone, then rushed over to Mark and knelt down beside him, holding out his paw.

"Are you ok?" he asked the rabbit, who suddenly looked frightened again. "Hey, it's alright; I'm not going to bite you or anything. I was just trying to scare them off so they'd leave you alone."

Shaking slightly, Mark held out his paw and took Nick's, letting Nick help him up out of the mud. It was just then that Nick noticed the raindrops; looking up at the sky, he saw it was getting darker by the minute. Any moment now, it would be pouring.

"We should probably get inside, don't you think?" Nick said.

"Um…yeah," Mark agreed.

And so, with no hesitation, the two kits hurried back towards the school, feeling the raindrops become more frequent and noticeable with every step. There was no one else by the door anymore, so Nick guessed everyone else must have already gone inside.

"Um…hey, Nick?" Mark said quietly, right as they reached the door.

"Yeah?" Nick replied.

"I just…thanks for…what you did back there," Mark said. "I don't even know who those bunnies were…"

"They're, um…old acquaintances of mine," Nick laughed.

Mark smiled a little, seemingly amused.

"Yeah…seemed like you knew them," he said. "And also…well, I know a lot of the mammals here are scared of predators… I'm just…well, I'm nervous with everyone…or at least that's what Clara says…it's not anything to do with you…"

"Really, it's fine," Nick assured him. "I'm used to prey being scared of me; it's not—"

"But I'm not, though!" Mark insisted. "Seriously, you can ask Clara…I was terrified of her when we first met and she's not a predator."

"So…you're saying my fangs don't bother you?" Nick asked.

"No, not at all; they're actually really fascinating," Mark replied. "It's…talking…that bothers me."

"Well, then," Nick chuckled, "no need to talk if you don't want to. Let's go inside now, ok?"

Mark nodded, and together the two kits stepped into the school and out of the pouring rain. They would have a lot to tell the others at lunch today.

* * *

As soon as Nick stepped into the cafeteria beside Judy, Sharla and Clara came running up to them, a group of twenty or so other prey kids following behind them. A little startled, Nick glanced at Judy, who just shrugged.

"Nick!" Sharla said, stopping in front of him. "Is it true you stood up to those bullies? Mark—well, Clara told me that Mark said you stood up for him before school today."

"Yeah, that's what Mark said," Clara confirmed. "Apparently our fox was a real hero this morning."

Nick was stunned, unable to even comprehend what was happening before his eyes to put words together. A whole group of rabbits, squirrels, sheep, and other prey mammals were looking at him—a _predator_ —and it wasn't with fear. It was…admiration?

Then he glanced at Judy, who looked even more dumbstruck than he felt…and a little irritated too. Nick realized he hadn't told her about what had happened that morning yet, though in his defense he had planned to tell her soon anyway.

"Nick, did that happen?" Judy asked. "You didn't say anything about—"

"Yeah, it's true," Nick confirmed, earning several enthusiastic smiles from the crowd. "They were the same bunnies from the Scouts…"

"What?!" Judy exclaimed. "And they were picking on _Mark_ , too?! That's it—"

"Judy, it's fine…" Mark said, stepping out from the crowd he had been hiding in. "I don't think they're going to bother us anymore…"

"Well, it's about time!" Sharla laughed. "I mean, if I was a predator, I would have scared them off a long time ago."

Nick felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him, as he recalled how confident he had felt about showing off his fangs earlier. He certainly didn't feel like that now; in fact, he hesitated to talk now as the idea of having his sharp teeth on display was at least moderately uncomfortable.

" _Why should I be nervous about that now?"_ he thought to himself. _"They're all really impressed! Sharla doesn't care that you're a predator; neither does Mark, and definitely not Judy!"_

" _But…why did I like it so much? It was so satisfying, seeing those jerks terrified of me… Did I take things too far? What if they really thought I was going to eat them…?"_

" _Oh, shut up,"_ he replied internally. _"You weren't going to_ eat _them; you're not_ insane _. You finally got to enjoy being a predator for once, instead of being ashamed and trying to hide your fangs from everyone you see. Stop trying to compromise yourself just to make everyone else comfortable."_

Taking a deep breath, Nick tried to calm himself and find that unwavering confidence he had displayed earlier that morning. He was a fox; there was nothing to gain from pretending he wasn't. The others had never been more accepting of that than they were right now, and there was no guarantee it was going to last. So, with that in mind, Nick decided he was going to make the most of this moment while it lasted. He knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he let one second of this go to waste.

"Yeah," Nick chuckled, trying to relax. "I think I'd be scared of you if you were a predator, Sharla."

Sharla giggled.

"Well, that's nice of you to say, Nick," she said, "but I was mostly joking. I don't think I'd be very good at being scary… I'd probably just scare myself if I tried."

That earned several laughs from the others, including Nick. Already, he could feel his nerves starting to relax as he settled into being himself.

"Hey, Nick," Clara spoke up, "did you really…you know, _growl_ at them? What's that like? I've never actually heard anyone do that before…"

"You want me to demonstrate?" Nick asked.

"Um…yes!" Clara said, a little nervously.

"Alright, but you guys might want to step back," Nick said, chuckling. "As you might have heard, my snarl is known to frighten even the most hardened of mammals."

Most of the group laughed, but some of them actually backed away nervously. Nick took another deep breath, though this time it was mainly just for dramatic effect. Briefly throwing away all of his fear of being a predator, he let out a snarl far more ferocious than he had intended, unapologetically displaying his sharp fangs.

Several of the others flinched, some even stepping back a little more, though to Nick's relief they didn't seem afraid. They actually looked…impressed. Somehow, in standing up for Mark, Nick's predator traits had gone from terrifying to almost heroic in the eyes of his peers. He didn't know how long it would last, so he committed to enjoying it as long as he could.

"That was… _cool_ ," a male deer remarked.

"Impressive, Nick!" Judy applauded, startling him when she punched his arm.

" _Lame_!" called a voice from across the room.

"Shut up, James!" a female voice retorted. "If you're not scared of him, then why don't you get up here and face him?"

" _Wait…"_ Nick thought, _"but that voice belongs to…"_

"June?" Judy said.

Nervously, the light brown bunny stepped forward and approached Judy. Nick scanned the crowd for her older sister, Samantha, but she was unsurprisingly nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry about what my sister said…" June said. "Do you think…can I sit with you guys again today?"

"Of course!" Judy exclaimed. "Come on, everyone, let's go eat."

She led the way through the line, Nick following behind her. Before long, they were seated at a table with several of their friends, including June, as well as several of the other enthusiastic kids from the crowd. It was a strange feeling, suddenly being so adored by the other students, but he definitely liked it. Until now, he had never really felt comfortable to just be himself, not having to worry about accidentally frightening anyone.

But now, at least for this one day, he didn't have to hide anymore. He was a fox—a predator—and today that seemed to be a good thing.

* * *

By the time school was over and Nick was walking back towards the bus, the rain had ended and the sky was starting to clear up. He glanced over to the side, where he had stood up for Mark earlier. It was so strange, thinking how far he had come since first moving here. Seeing those jerk bunnies from the Scouts meeting again…it was like coming full circle. Back then, he had been too afraid to even try to fight back when the rabbits muzzled him, and today he had managed to scare them off by doing nothing other than faking confidence.

" _Well, and that snarl probably helped too; I doubt it would have sounded that good last year…"_ he thought.

"Nick, wait up!" a familiar voice called from behind him.

Nick spun around, and sure enough, Judy was running towards him. Without stopping, she ran straight up to him and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Chuckling to himself, Nick hugged her as well.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked, laughing.

"You were so brave today, Nick!" Judy said cheerily. "What you did was amazing… And I'm glad everyone else got to see the real you today…"

"Yeah…" Nick agreed. "So…you really don't mind it at all? I mean…me being a predator and embracing it and all that?"

"No, why would I mind that?" Judy replied, pulling away. "Nick, if you weren't a fox, you probably couldn't have stood up to all those bunnies by yourself."

"That's not true; you definitely would have done the same thing," Nick laughed.

"Well—ok, I guess you _do_ have a point there," Judy admitted, "but even if I had stood up to them, I couldn't have scared them off like you did. I would have tried my best, but still…I'm not a predator. I'm glad you were there. And it's not just me, either; everyone else is saying the same thing."

"It did feel good…not having to hide today," Nick agreed.

"You mean…hiding your fangs?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, but it's not just that," Nick explained. "It's like I always have to be extra calm here…but back home in Zootopia when I was around other predators, it wasn't like that. I guess predators are just a lot rougher than prey are… Here, I'm always worried that any little thing I do could frighten someone. Does that make sense?"

"I get it," Judy said. "I'm sorry it's that way for you…you shouldn't have to hide who you are just because we bunnies are too sensitive."

"But I don't want to scare anyone," Nick replied. "If my fangs make prey nervous—"

Judy quickly slapped a paw over Nick's snout.

"Then they can look the other way," she said flatly. "No one should have to hide who they are for someone else's sake."

"I guess you're right," Nick sighed. "It's just hard… Sometimes I feel like I'm threatening everyone just by being here, the way they react to me."

"I know," Judy said, putting a paw on his shoulder. "But whenever you feel like that…just remember today. You protect us…you're not a threat."

"Thank you," Nick replied. There was a brief moment of silence before he added, "Well, I guess we should probably get going now, huh?"

"Right!" Judy agreed. "See you tomorrow, Nick!"

Both of them quickly hurried off to the bus, each feeling unusually cheery. Things were starting to look up.

* * *

As the weeks went by and winter faded into spring, the events of that day slowly began to fade, too. For a few weeks or so, Nick's defending of Mark was all anyone seemed to talk about, but it wasn't long before other events took its place and Nick's constant attention from the other students started to lessen.

But regardless, Nick's actions had changed the way the other students looked at him, even long after his days of being the school's hero had passed. There could be no denying now that Nick was a good kit, not a danger or a threat to anyone. He wasn't here to try and eat innocent bunnies; he was just…like everyone else.

Of course, some mammals' preconceived notions about predators were more easily overcome than others.

" _He scared some bunnies who just so happened to be picking on Mark; so what?"_

" _You know he would have gone after Mark if he wasn't distracted with the other three!"_

" _Sure, he stood up for Mark, but that doesn't mean he isn't still dangerous…"_

Still, as Judy sat in the cafeteria, looking around at the other students on the last day of school, she couldn't help but wish they all had the privilege of knowing Nick as well as she did. It had only been a year since she had met him, but in that year, her perception of predators had changed a lot. She had learned so much, and she wished everyone around her could see what she saw. She wished they could see how remarkable predators could be; how their strengths, as frightening as they were, could be positive…even amazing at times.

Yet, as Judy finished her lunch and got up to leave the table—her friends having already finished and left—she felt that the year had been an overall success. She had befriended a fox, she had learned to let go of her innate fear of predators, and together, she and Nick had symbolically repaired the rift between their two species by reenacting the Trust Ritual. Yes, Judy was only one bunny kit in a very small town, but she liked to think she was making the world a better place one small step at a time.

But still, there was one last thing that had to happen before this school year could come to a close.

"Um…Judy?" said a voice from behind.

Turning around, Judy saw that the voice belonged to none other than Samantha, someone she hadn't spoken to in over two months. Seeing her again now, remembering the argument, Judy really didn't want to hear whatever she had to say. Nevertheless, she decided to at least hear her out.

"What is it, Sam?" Judy sighed.

"Look, I just wanted to say…" Samantha started, sounding unsure. "I…I get what you said about Nick. I've been thinking about it, and…well, I was…I was wrong."

She clenched her eyes shut while saying that last part, wincing as if it was physically painful.

"See, my parents always told us that predators were dangerous," she explained. "But…I've been thinking about it and I realized how careful Nick always is… I don't think he would hurt you. So…I'm…I'm sorry. But I…I can't…"

At this point she shut her eyes again, but this time she seemed to be trying to hold back tears. Judy felt a little regretful at how she had lashed out at Samantha when they'd last spoken; it hadn't occurred to her that the bunny was just repeating what her parents had told her. Taking a few calming breaths, Judy placed a paw on her friend's shoulder.

"It's ok," she said softly. "You can tell me."

"I'm still scared of predators, Judy…" Samantha replied quietly. "And I…I know Nick isn't dangerous and he wouldn't hurt you, or any of us, but…I…I can't…I can't stop myself from being afraid…so I hope you'll forgive me if I keep my distance…"

Judy sighed. Her first thought was to immediately start trying to explain to Samantha how she didn't have to be afraid of Nick, and he would never hurt her, and if she just gave him a chance she would get over her fear and everything would be perfect…

But that wasn't going to happen. As much as Judy wanted every bunny to be like her, able to be best friends with predators and not feel afraid of them, she knew that would be too good to be true. She thought back to when she had first met Nick, and how he had been so kind to her and helped her even though she was still afraid of him.

Sometimes, Judy realized, she would have to accept mammals where they were. If Nick hadn't done it for her, she might never have gotten over her fear.

" _And maybe Samantha will come around too, eventually…"_ Judy thought hopefully. _"But I can't try to force it, or I'll end up pushing her away."_

So with a heavy heart, Judy simply replied, "I understand."

Samantha wiped the tears from her eyes and stood silently for a moment, trying to regain her composure.

"Thank you," she finally said. "I…well—"

"Samantha!" called an unfamiliar female voice from across the room. "Are you coming?"

"Oh, sorry, Judy, I have to go!" Samantha replied, hurrying away. "I'll see you in the fall!"

And that was that. The rest of the day went by in a blur, an incoherent jumble of events Judy's mind could barely process after her talk with Samantha. She felt emotionally exhausted, thinking back on all the ups and downs throughout the year and wondering what would happen in the fall. She wondered if Nick would start to feel comfortable fully being himself, if Samantha would overcome her fear of predators, if James would ever stop being a brat…

But today wasn't the day she would get those questions answered, nor was tomorrow or the next day. So for the time being, she decided she would try to relax and enjoy the summer, and not worry about the future. There was a lot to look forward to, and she wasn't about to miss any of it.

After all, she and Nick were both ten years old now. What would the next year hold for the two of them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet cheese and crackers, it seems like Samantha can't even make an appearance anymore without bursting into tears!
> 
> In all seriousness, though, I'm really excited for future chapters. I'm likely going to try and increase the pace for a while since the story is going to span several years, and every year doesn't need to be twelve freaking chapters! But we'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> That's all for today. See you all again soon! (not literally, but you know what i mean)


	13. Restless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is SO GOOD TO BE BACK!
> 
> Sorry again for the overly long wait, my depression/anxiety was getting almost unbearable during the later part of August and September, and as a result my writing slowed down dramatically. Luckily I'm now on medication for that and it's been getting better, so I've moved back upstairs to my bedroom (long story) and since October 2, I've been making an effort to write every day. In addition to this story, I have a few other projects I'm working on as well, which I'll start uploading once I have several chapters finished. Because I'm going to be writing more stories than just this one, I can't promise the updates here will be super fast, but I'm pretty sure I should be able to avoid any more two or three month long waits.
> 
> (Fingers crossed!)
> 
> Also, while writing this chapter, I used the phrasing 'a prey' and 'preys' because Microsoft Word told me to do so. I assumed it knew what it was talking about, but then my proofreader Zephyr Fyrian told me she didn't think it was correct. I honestly have no idea, so if anyone has any knowledge of how this grammar is supposed to work, it would be much appreciated. (I'm also embarrassed that I, of all people, don't know all of the proper grammar rules for the word 'prey' at this point.)
> 
> And as always, thank you again to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter!

After the last day of school was over and summer began, it wasn't long before both Nick and Judy missed each other and started begging their parents for another visit. They gave in soon enough and even after the visit was over, the two kits never ceased their requests to get together again.

Nick eventually lost count of how many times he'd been over at the Hopps' that summer. Sometimes it felt like he saw Judy just about every other day, and any thoughts of being nervous around so many bunnies were all but forgotten now. Both kits' parents got along so well now, not to mention Brendan was practically best friends with Judy's sister Mallory. Of course, some of the rabbits like James were still uncomfortable having foxes in the burrow, but they seemed to have accepted that their complaints wouldn't change anything at this point.

By the end of summer, Judy's parents had warmed up to the Wildes enough that they even took her over to their house for a visit. Mallory had come with them to visit Brendan, and for some reason Judy's older sister Chloe had decided to tag along too, though Nick wasn't really sure why.

"So," Nick laughed, looking over at Judy who was lying in the grass beside him, "what's it like, being in the fox's den? As scary as you thought?"

"Sure, it's terrifying," Judy giggled. "Really, though, Nick…it's been so nice to see you being yourself. You smile so much more now that you're not trying to hide your fangs anymore."

"Really?" Nick replied, genuinely surprised. "I…didn't even notice. You…don't mind, though, right?"

"Of course not!" Judy laughed. "Seriously, Nick, you don't see me trying to hide my ears or anything. If someone doesn't like your teeth, that's their problem, not yours."

In that moment, it seemed like everything was perfect. They had come so far in the first year Nick had been in Bunnyburrow, and it looked like the worst was behind them. In a few weeks, school would start back, and it was exciting to think about going back without being so afraid anymore. It felt like it had been so long since the day Nick stood up for Mark and earned the approval of half the school, and the days of having to feel embarrassed and hide were a distant memory now.

* * *

Before long, the first day of school arrived and Nick hurried to get ready and out to the bus. It was a bit of a cloudy day, but not as dark as the day he'd stood up for Mark back in the spring. His thoughts wandering, Nick was less outwardly enthusiastic this morning than Brendan, who was jumping around excitedly as he took his seat on the bus.

The trip went by uneventfully, as did the introduction to Nick's new teacher. Thankfully, Judy was still in the same class as him, though Sharla and Mark also shared a classroom with them this year.

"Hi, Nick!" Judy said cheerily, waving to her friend as he entered the room. "Good to have you back!"

Mark and Sharla smiled at him too, and he couldn't help but smile back at them. It wasn't until a few seconds had passed and Nick had taken his seat that he realized just how comfortable he felt. There was no apprehension, no attempts to conceal himself. Things were different this year.

By lunch time, Nick was already feeling confident about the year ahead. He stepped into the cafeteria beside Judy, Sharla and Mark following closely behind them, and hesitated for a moment as he saw how many other kits were in the room. He didn't know what he expected, but seeing so many preys in the room at once all peacefully going about their day made him suddenly a little self-conscious.

" _They might get nervous if they see a predator acting so confident…"_ he thought. _"Maybe I should try to tone it down a little."_

Taking a deep breath, Nick followed Judy towards the line, resolving to remain calm. He shouldn't have to hide himself—or at least, he didn't _think_ he would—but he would have to dial back his enthusiasm. After all, most of his classmates weren't used to being around predators, and he didn't want to frighten any of them.

Nick sighed. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed; he'd thought that his days of having to keep his true self contained were over. Maybe that just wasn't meant to be.

He followed his friends towards their table, trying to be optimistic. He was so caught up in his thoughts he barely noticed Samantha and June's absence, though it didn't surprise him much. Judy's other friend Clara still joined them, but none of the rest of his fans from the day he'd stood up for Mark showed up.

" _Oh well, guess I can't be a celebrity forever,"_ Nick thought.

"Hi, everyone!" Clara said cheerily. "How was your summer?"

"Mine was great!" Judy replied. "Chloe, Mallory, and I got to go over to Nick's house a few weeks ago, and that was really fun."

"Mine was good too," Sharla said. "I'm surprised, but I didn't run into Gideon Grey all summer. Do you guys know what happened to him?"

"Huh…now that you mention it, I don't know that I've seen him since Nick and I met," Judy admitted.

Nick realized he couldn't specifically remember seeing Gideon since that day either; he hadn't really thought about it until now, but it did seem odd that someone Judy and Sharla were clearly familiar with hadn't shown his face in over a year.

" _Maybe he's avoiding them because of me?"_ Nick wondered. _"That doesn't make sense; he's a predator too, so he shouldn't really be scared of me, plus he's about twice my size if I remember correctly."_

Still, something told him that Gideon's disappearance wasn't entirely a coincidence. Regardless, he didn't know nearly enough about Gideon to guess what exactly had happened.

"Who…who is this 'Gideon Grey' you're talking about?" Mark asked.

"Sharla's nemesis," Judy answered. "And mine too, I guess."

Clara snorted in laughter, while Mark just looked even more confused.

"He's…a jerk," Sharla explained. "He used to bully me and my friends all the time, but I haven't seen him since Nick stood up to him last year."

"He's also a fox, like me…" Nick added quietly.

"He most certainly is _not_ 'like you,' Nick," Judy objected. "I mean, I guess you are both foxes, but Gideon only ever used being a predator as an excuse to push everyone else around."

"Yeah…" Sharla agreed. "That's why I was so nervous when I met you, Nick. Sorry about that…"

All his friends were looking at him now, but Nick was barely paying attention. His mind was playing the day he'd stood up for Mark over in his head, trying to make sense of what had happened.

" _Can I really say I'm that different from Gideon?"_ he thought. _"I used my teeth and claws to scare bunnies, just like he did. I guess I had a reason to, but…it feels like I went too far."_

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. Nick's mind was still caught up trying to figure things out, but none of his friends seemed to notice. He supposed that was probably a good thing; none of them seemed to think his actions during the spring were anything short of heroic, but for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been too harsh.

* * *

Things did not get easier for Nick as the weeks went on. Initially, he'd expected his worries from the first day to fade as time went on, but instead they only seemed to get worse. Being a predator in a school dominated by prey, he had begun to feel as if his presence was perceived as a threat. He knew he wasn't here to hurt anyone, but the way some of the other students looked at him almost made him feel…like he didn't deserve to be here.

Once those thoughts had entered his mind, it seemed there was nothing Nick could do to make them leave. He started paying closer attention to everything he did at school, every move he took, determined to make himself appear less threatening, but none of it seemed to change anything.

Deep inside, he knew that his attempts to make the prey kids more comfortable around him were only making him feel worse. He didn't want to act like a prey; he was a _predator_! But how could he be true to himself—a predator—in a school filled with mammals who might be frightened of him?

Sometime in the middle of autumn, when the weather was already starting to grow colder with every day, Nick decided he couldn't hold it in any longer. So, after school, as he and his friends were walking back towards the bus, he spoke up.

"Hey…Judy?" he said. "Could I talk to you for a minute before we go…?"

"Go ahead, Judy," Sharla said. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Clara and Mark nodded as well, and then continued towards the bus with Sharla, while Nick led Judy over to the trees by the side of the parking lot. It was the same place where he'd defended Mark during the spring, though with the weather now crisp and dry, the area no longer looked quite the same.

"What is it, Nick?" Judy asked, her violet eyes full of concern and a hint of confusion. "Is…something bothering you?"

"Yeah, kind of…" Nick replied. "You haven't…noticed me acting different or anything?"

"Different?" Judy repeated, even more confused now. "No, I thought… You seem like you're adjusting to Bunnyburrow really well. Did something happen I don't know about? Wait…has my brother been bothering you? The next time I see him, I'm going to—"

"No, it's not that!" Nick said. "I haven't seen James in a while, actually. It's…well, it's really more something I've been doing, I guess. Are you sure I don't seem different to you?"

Judy paused for a few seconds, as if she was trying hard to figure out what her friend was referring to. Eventually, she shrugged.

"I don't know, Nick," she admitted. "But if something's been bothering you, you can tell me. I'll listen."

Nick hesitated. He wasn't entirely sure how to explain it; he'd been positive that Judy at least would have noticed he was acting unusual, but if not…

"It's like…well, I've been trying to act more like a prey to fit in around here," he explained. "But I don't think it's working. I—"

"Wait, I don't understand," Judy interrupted. "Do predators and prey act that differently? Why would you need to act like someone else?"

"I…do you remember what I told you back in the spring?" Nick asked. "About how I always have to be extra calm here?"

"Yeah, I remember you saying that," Judy confirmed. "Do you still feel that way? Because I haven't seen you trying to hide your fangs anymore, like you used to."

"I…I don't know, I guess maybe I don't do _that_ anymore…" Nick replied. "But it still seems like I'm always afraid that any little thing I do might scare someone, so I've been…holding it all in."

"I'm just not sure what it is you're 'holding in' now," Judy said. "You seem fine to me… Are you sure it's not just in your head? Maybe you're just thinking about it too hard."

"I guess… Maybe you're right," Nick said, though he wasn't entirely sure he believed it.

"Hey, if you need to talk to me about it, I'm always here," Judy said.

Nick smiled.

"Thanks, Judy," he said. "Guess we'd better get back to the bus now, huh?"

"Right!" Judy agreed. "Come on, let's go!"

And with that, she took off running back towards the bus, Nick following behind her.

* * *

Several weeks later, Nick was walking down the hall towards the door when he saw a bunny in front of him trip and fall, dropping several papers on the floor. As she got to her feet and began to pick them up, Nick knelt down beside her.

"Hey," he said, "do you want any help with—?"

"Aaah!" the bunny squeaked, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get in your way! I just need to pick these up and then I'll go! Please don't hurt me!"

Stunned, Nick watched as the terrified rabbit frantically gathered all the papers she'd dropped, before sprinting off down the hall without another word.

" _What did I do?"_ he wondered. _"Was it seeing my fangs that scared her off? Is there anything I can do to keep these bunnies from being afraid of me, or is it always going to be like this?"_

Feeling exhausted, Nick continued down the hall towards the door, soon catching up with Judy and the others. From the looks of it, they were all in good moods.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed. "What took you so long?"

"After you went running off," Nick said, "someone dropped some papers, so I… I don't want to talk about it, ok?"

"Oh…" Judy said, her expression turning downcast. "Well…are we going to see each other over the winter? Because Sharla and Mark were just saying they could come over to my house too if you wanted to—"

"I…I'll think about it," Nick replied. He had completely forgotten that today was their last day of school in the fall. "Look, I…really need to go. I'll see all you guys later."

He turned and headed off towards the bus before Judy could stop him. He tried to distract his mind, but no matter what he did he couldn't get the image of that terrified bunny out of his head. He kept replaying the events over in his mind, wondering if there was something he had done wrong, if there was anything else he could have done to keep from scaring her.

By the time the bus reached his house, Nick was so overwhelmed that he went straight to his room, wanting some time to think over what had happened.

* * *

Thankfully for Nick, the next few weeks offered plenty of distractions from his thoughts. With the holidays to focus on, he didn't worry much about what would happen when school started back. He knew in the back of his mind that he'd have to deal with that eventually, but for now, he was just going to enjoy this time.

During all of the holiday excitement, however, Nick couldn't help but think back to the previous year, when he and Judy had secretly performed the Trust Ritual at her house. Back then, he had been worried about how the other students perceived him, and now that worry seemed to be resurfacing.

Nick also didn't see Judy at all during winter break, nor did he see any of the rest of their friends. His mother had asked him a few times if he wanted to get together with Judy and their other friends, but Nick had turned her down.

He knew it was ridiculous to worry about accidentally scaring any of his friends, especially Judy, but for some reason the interaction with that one bunny on the last day of school kept finding its way into Nick's thoughts. He couldn't help but feel like his friends would be more comfortable if he was like them, if he was a prey.

" _Don't be ridiculous, Nick,"_ he told himself. _"If you weren't a predator, you wouldn't have been able to scare off those bunnies who were bullying Mark! You wouldn't have been able to do that Trust Ritual thing either! And Judy clearly has nothing against you being a fox, so why do you keep stressing about it so much?"_

Nick knew he wasn't going to get an answer from himself; he had no idea why the differences between predator and prey continued to bother him. No matter how many times his friends accepted him for who he was, it seemed nothing was going to get better until he could accept himself. And he didn't know how he was going to accept himself when he continued feeling quietly ashamed every time he realized he liked being a predator.

" _We used to_ eat _other mammals!"_ he thought, practically berating himself at this point. _"That isn't something to be proud of! How can you be proud of having those fangs, when their only purpose was to hurt and kill innocent prey?"_

" _Why does it matter, though?"_ another side of Nick's mind replied. _"I don't want to hurt anyone, ever. Why is it so bad to like that I have these sharp teeth and claws, if I never use them to hurt anyone?"_

Needless to say, the eleven-year-old fox's mind was an exhausting place to be right now. It was going to be a long winter.

* * *

After a moderately relaxing holiday season, Nick wasn't sure how he felt about going back to school. He was looking forward to seeing Judy again, as well as the others…but he also felt a bit nervous about seeing them again. Even with his weeks of time spent pondering his status as a predator and what that meant for him as a mammal, he hadn't really figured anything out. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was confused. Very, very confused. And he couldn't see it getting clearer anytime soon.

The first day back to school in January was dry, chilly, and windy. The wind was so frigid that even with his fur, Nick felt like his face might freeze off. He wouldn't dare skip wearing a coat on a day like this.

"Wait for me, Nick!" Brendan called, running outside to catch up with his brother.

" _Someone's_ in a good mood today," Nick remarked as they walked down the driveway.

"Aren't you excited too?" Brendan asked. "You get to see Judy again!"

"Yeah, I know…" Nick replied.

Brendan frowned, clearly aware of his brother's lack of enthusiasm, though he didn't press him for more details. Nick felt a little bad; he didn't want to upset his younger brother and ruin his day too, but there was so much going on in his head that it was hard for him to even fake excitement. He didn't know whether to be eager to get back to school or concerned, and constantly going back and forth between those two emotions left him in a state that was just…neutral.

The bus offered temporary refuge from the crazy weather, but it did nothing for Nick's anxious mental state. The whole ride to school, he went over the same questions he had been obsessing about for months, as if the answer to all of his problems was out there somewhere, just waiting to be found.

Unsurprisingly, by the time the bus reached the school, he felt no more certain about himself than he had that morning. As he followed the crowd of other students back out into the frosty air and towards the school, he wasn't sure whether he was going to keep trying to act more prey-like to try and fit in, or if he was finally just going to be himself. He was so emotionally numb now; it didn't seem worth it to try and do any of those things. He just wanted the war inside his head to _stop_.

Nick was relieved when he stepped inside the school and out of the freezing cold, but internally there was no relief at all. He continued down the hall towards his classroom in silence, no longer glancing at every student around him to make sure he wasn't somehow scaring them.

" _I was definitely way too worried about that last fall,"_ he realized. _"There's not much I can do if someone gets scared from just seeing me walk down the hall. But still…if I'm one of the only predators in a school full of prey, does that mean I should be more careful how I act in front of them?"_

Thankfully, Nick soon arrived at his classroom and was greeted by Judy's enthusiastic welcome.

"Nick!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "I missed you! Did you have a good winter?"

" _Not exactly,"_ Nick thought.

"Yeah, it was ok," he lied. "What about yours? Did Sharla and Mark come over?"

"Yeah, they came to visit once," Judy replied. "It was…fun. Right, guys?"

She turned back to glance at Sharla and Mark—both of whom were sitting at their desks already—and both nodded. Nick thought that something about their enthusiasm didn't seem entirely genuine, but he didn't dwell on it.

"Well, I'm glad you guys had fun," Nick said, walking over to his desk to sit down. "Sorry I wasn't there; maybe some other time."

"Sure, that sounds good," Judy agreed.

As expected, school seemed to go on forever. Though Nick was relieved for several hours in which he wouldn't have to worry about interacting with prey, his restless mind would not let him focus on what the teacher was saying. He had never been nearly as attentive as Judy, but he was usually able to make himself concentrate when he needed to. Today, however, that clearly wasn't happening.

When lunch break finally came, Nick breathed a huge sigh of relief as he followed his classmates out into the hall. Judy, Sharla, and Mark followed nearby, though Nick was surprised to see that Judy wasn't nearly as lively as usual. She almost always had something to say when they got out of class, and even if Sharla and Mark weren't feeling particularly conversational, Judy usually found a way to break the ice. But not today.

By the time they reached the cafeteria, Nick realized that Judy and the others were lagging behind a bit, so he turned back to rejoin them. Unfortunately, he bumped into a deer, who immediately whirled around and glared down at him.

"Watch it, _fox_!" he shouted angrily.

Before Nick could respond, he heard a snarl from nearby. The deer's eyes widened in surprise, and for a moment Nick wondered if he had made the sound unknowingly. Then, he glanced to the right to see two foxes walking up to them; one was female and looked about the same age as Nick, while the other was male and looked like he was closer to Gideon's size than Nick's. Nick thought he vaguely remembered seeing the two in the cafeteria in the past, but he had never interacted with them before.

"What seems to be the problem here?" the vixen inquired, glaring at the deer while maintaining a smile.

"I… _what_?!" the buck exclaimed. "This fox attacked me; _that's_ the problem! What do you—?"

"Back off right now or we'll give you some more problems," the bigger fox said, his voice deeper than any of the other kits at the school.

"What—what kind of problems?!" the buck said, sounding nervous now.

"You don't want to know," the fox replied ominously. "Now you'd better get lost before my friend and I get hungry, _prey_."

He snarled again for emphasis, which sent the deer running across the room. Nick himself was stunned, trying to process what had just happened as the bigger fox approached him and held out his paw.

"Name's Trevor," he said. "This here is my friend, Vanessa. We predators gotta stick together, am I right?"

"Um…um…" Nick started.

Trevor rolled his eyes.

"Come on, I'm not gonna hurt _you_ ," he said. "We're the same. I'm trying to help you."

"But…" Nick said, "that was a little harsh, the way you scared him, don't you think? He didn't even hurt me—"

"Pfft, what does it matter?" Trevor interrupted. "He was pushing you around. You can't let other mammals do that to you."

"I…I guess you're right," Nick agreed hesitantly.

Just then, Judy finally pushed her way through the crowd and came over to see what the drama was all about. Sharla, Mark, and Clara followed behind her.

"Nick, what happened?" she asked. "I couldn't see; did you growl at—"

"Nick…so that's your name," Trevor said. "Cool, it suits you. Are you friends with this bunny?"

"Y-yes," Nick answered. "This is Judy. And the other three are—"

"Cute name," Trevor remarked. "So, Nick, how would you like to sit with me and Vanessa today? You really should hang out with your own kind more."

"Nick doesn't care about that!" Judy shouted angrily. "We're all his friends, even if we're not the same species!"

"Are you sure you're really the best friends for him to have, though?" Vanessa inquired, walking up to join what was quickly becoming a confrontation.

"What does _that_ mean?!" Judy demanded.

"Well…" Vanessa said, "it's just that he can't really be himself around you, can he? You _prey_ might be content being all cute and cuddly, but that isn't enough for us predators."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Judy shouted. "Just because Nick is a predator doesn't mean he wants to hurt anyone!"

"Judy…" Nick said, looking his friend in the eyes. "I…I think I might… Can I talk to you alone?"

"Ok…" Judy said, confused.

Nick led her away from the others and off to the side of the cafeteria, heart racing as he thought about what he was going to tell her. He felt so bad about it for some reason, and yet…

"Judy…" Nick said gently, "I think…I want to sit with them. At least for today."

"What?" Judy replied. "Nick, you can't really believe what he—"

"No, I know," Nick said, putting a paw on her shoulder. "And I still want to be your friend and all that, and I…I don't think you're any less of a friend just because we're different species. But…I'm the only predator in our little group, and…I don't…"

" _Stop!"_ Nick internally shouted. _"Pull it together! You can't start crying here, in front of everyone!"_

"Nick…?" Judy said. "Are…you ok?"

"I just think it would be nice to hang out with other foxes some, too…" Nick explained. "I mean…you'd feel the same way if you were one of the only bunnies in a school full of predators, right?"

"Well…ok, you're right," Judy admitted. "It's just that they don't seem…very nice."

"I know," Nick sighed. "They _were_ a little harsh to that deer I bumped into… But they don't seem too bad, at least not like Gideon Grey. And they were trying to help me out, even if they were a little too aggressive."

"I guess so," Judy agreed. "And I guess I can't tell you who to sit with anyway, so…go ahead."

"You're…not mad at me?" Nick asked.

Judy smiled.

"No, I'm not," she said. "But you're going to need to get back over there before your new friends get tired of waiting!"

"Right!" Nick replied, turning to head back towards the others. "I'll see you later, Judy!"

He ran back up to Trevor and Vanessa, who looked as if they were having a staring contest with Sharla, Mark, and Clara.

"Make a decision yet?" Trevor asked. "We don't have all day, you know."

"I…I'm coming to sit with you today," Nick said. "That is, as long as you still want me to."

"Awesome!" Trevor replied, smiling. "Nick, you're going to love hanging out with us, I promise. Come on, let's get out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT COULD THIS MEAN? XD
> 
> I want to reassure everyone, again, that I do fully intend on seeing this story through to the end, even if it takes another ten years to get there. With how much better my mood and my writing have been in the last week or so, though, I expect it shouldn't take too long.
> 
> Thank you all for being patient with me, and I hope to see you again soon! (figuratively, of course)


	14. Growing Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG you guys, I really need some sleep. XD
> 
> The wait was a little longer than I'd hoped, but I have been working on several different projects over the last few weeks and it took me a while to get back to this one. Once I did, though, it went really fast!
> 
> Also, this story is now on AO3 as well!
> 
> Thanks to Zephyr Fyrian for proofreading again, and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

The coming weeks felt very strange to Judy. Since going to sit with the other two foxes on the first day back to school, Nick had started to seem more and more distant as time went on. At first, he continued to sit with Judy and her friends and hung out mostly with them, but he was noticeably quieter. Judy had tried to ask him a few times if there was anything wrong, but he had avoided the question so far.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she had asked. "You seem quieter lately."

"No, I'm fine," he insisted. "Honestly, don't worry about me."

And she almost would have been able to believe that answer, if it hadn't been for what happened next. Following his change in attitude, Nick soon started hanging out with Trevor and Vanessa more and more often. Even when he was sitting with Judy, she would notice him occasionally staring wistfully at the table in the corner occupied by the other two foxes, as if desperately wishing he was there.

Finally, an entire week went by in which Nick sat at the other table every day, and Judy started to worry. So, when school started back the Monday after that, she was prepared to bring her concerns to the rest of her friends at lunchtime.

Sitting down at the table with Sharla, Mark, and Clara, Judy spoke up.

"Ok, so I've been avoiding talking about this," she said, "but has anyone else noticed Nick hasn't talked to us in a week?"

"I was thinking that too!" Sharla exclaimed. "I thought you would know what that was about."

"He's been hanging out with Trevor and Vanessa, hasn't he?" Clara said.

"Yeah," Judy confirmed. "And I'm worried that if we don't say something to him, he's just going to become part of their group. And I still…I don't trust them."

"You can't tell him that," Mark said. "He wants to hang out with them because he feels left out being the only predator in our group."

"But why did he have to pick… _them_?!" Judy said. "I mean…did you see how they treated that deer that Nick bumped into?"

"Well…the guy _was_ kind of a jerk," Mark pointed out.

"Trevor made it sound like he was going to _eat_ him!" Sharla exclaimed. "No matter what the guy said, that doesn't make it right to—"

"Look," Mark interrupted, "I'm not saying they're super nice mammals or anything, but have any of us actually seen them _start_ a fight? It sounds to me like they're just using whatever they can to get other mammals to stop bothering them."

Judy sighed. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Mark was technically right. There was no doubt in her mind that Trevor and Vanessa were capable of antagonizing innocent prey for no reason, but she currently had no proof of this. For now, at least, it seemed they were just going to have to deal with Nick hanging out with the other foxes, and hope he would come back around sooner or later.

* * *

On the first day of spring break, Judy awoke early and got ready before any of the other bunnies in her room so much as opened their eyes. She hurried out of the room, hopping excitedly, anticipating what was to come.

Bonnie was in the kitchen, trying to fix breakfast for a bunch of Judy's siblings, so she decided not to interrupt. Instead, she headed outside to wait there, where it was less busy and she could more easily clear her mind.

The weather outside was starting to warm up and trees and grass were just beginning to turn green again, but Judy didn't pay much attention to this as she was too busy thinking about today. She had invited several of her friends to come over and spend the day, and she was excited to see them all.

Luckily, it wasn't long before Sharla and Clara arrived, and both seemed equally enthusiastic about spending the day at the Hopps' farm.

"So, do you think they're coming?" Sharla asked.

"Mark said he would be here for sure," Clara answered. "Judy, did Nick say he was coming, or…?"

"I…I hope so," Judy replied. "He said he wasn't sure if he was coming or not. But I'm sure he'll be here; he's spent so much time with the other foxes I'm sure it won't matter if he misses one day, right?"

Sharla and Clara both looked hesitantly optimistic, which didn't reassure Judy very much. Regardless, she tried her best to maintain her positive attitude. Besides, if Nick didn't come, there was nothing she could do about it anyway.

After waiting several more minutes, Mark arrived and came to join the others. Judy insisted they continue waiting for Nick, but after almost half an hour had passed, she realized he wasn't coming.

"Let's just…let's just go inside," Judy said, defeated.

Her friends following her back inside the house, Judy led them back to the room she shared with several of her siblings. Sharla, Clara, and Mark tried to cheer her up, coming up with all kinds of games for them to play that Judy normally would have found very entertaining…but nothing was going to make her feel better today. Try as she might, she couldn't stop thinking about Nick, and worrying that his absence wasn't just a phase anymore.

A few hours went by during which Judy's friends mostly played with Mallory and a few of Judy's other siblings, until Sharla finally decided they should just call it a day.

As Judy followed her friends back outside to say goodbye to them, she almost thought she was feeling fine. But as she stood there outside, looking around at the beautiful spring weather and feeling the gentle breeze, her thoughts drifted back in time to the Carrot Days festival, to when Nick had first stood up for her…and she couldn't take it. She squeezed her eyes shut tight to hold in the tears, but they were already streaming down her face.

"Judy?" Sharla said, turning back to face her. "Judy! Are you ok?"

Judy slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her friend, the tears obscuring her vision. Both Sharla and Clara were right next to her, looking at her sympathetically. Mark looked stunned, like he wasn't quite sure what to do.

"I…" Judy started, her voice breaking. "I just…"

"It's ok, Judy," Sharla said gently, pulling the bunny into a hug. "I'm sorry today didn't go like you wanted it to."

"What if he doesn't come back?" Judy blurted out, more tears filling her eyes. "He was one of my best friends and I don't want him to leave! Why…why doesn't he talk to me anymore…? Did…did I do something wrong…?"

She had to stop talking and just let the tears come, as her voice was starting to get choked up. Not wanting to stand, she knelt down on the ground and cried, closing her eyes as Sharla and Clara embraced her. A few seconds later, Mark joined in the group hug too.

Judy and her friends stayed that way for a long time, giving the little bunny all the time she needed to work through her emotions. She couldn't remember how long she cried, but she felt exhausted and numb when it was over. Sniffling a little and wiping the last of the tears from her eyes, Judy stood up, and the rest of her friends did the same.

"Thank you…" Judy said softly. "All of you. I…I'm so glad you're all my friends."

Sharla smiled.

"I'll never stop being your friend, Judy," she replied. "And…I don't think you did anything wrong. You're a great friend to Nick."

"Maybe he just needs some time," Clara suggested.

"Yeah," Judy said, trying to feel optimistic. "Yeah, you're probably right. I was worrying too much…"

"It's ok, Judy; we're here for you," Sharla said.

"Mark is too, but he doesn't know what to say," Clara added.

Mark nodded, confirming her words.

"Aw, you don't have to say anything," Judy replied, walking up to the other bunny and hugging him. "I know you care."

"Mm-hmm," Mark said.

Judy proceeded to hug both Sharla and Clara once more as well, and the four friends sat in silence for a while as they waited for their parents to arrive. Soon enough, the parents of all three arrived to take them home, and Judy waved goodbye before heading back inside the burrow where she hoped to distract herself from the emotional day.

" _I miss you so much, Nick,"_ she thought. _"I know you need to be with your own kind too, but please…please don't stop being my friend."_

* * *

As the weeks went on, Nick continued to spend almost all of his free time hanging out with Trevor and Vanessa, and Judy slowly started to get used to his absence. For a while, it felt really wrong to not have him there, but after some time had passed it just started to feel more or less normal. Judy tried to stop worrying about whether or not Nick was coming back; all she knew for sure was that he wasn't here now, and as far as she knew he was perfectly fine with that.

March turned into April, and soon April turned into May, and all hopes of Nick coming back were pushed far to the back of Judy's mind, as his return seemed more and more unlikely with every passing day. Before too long, Samantha and June started sitting with Judy and her other friends at lunch again, and though Judy was glad to see her other friends again, it did feel like the final sign that Nick really wasn't coming back. She knew it was no coincidence that Samantha had deemed it safe to sit with them after Nick had been gone for months, and it reminded her that as much as she might still be hoping for the fox to return, everyone else had accepted that he had moved on.

Finally, on the last week of school, Judy decided she needed to talk to Nick, if only to know for sure that he really wasn't coming back. It was the end of fifth grade, the last week they would ever walk through these halls as students, and it seemed like as good a time as any to talk to her friend before summer and their eventual transition to a new school. A time was ending, and if her friendship with Nick was ending too, it might as well be now.

"You guys go on ahead and sit down," Judy said to her friends in the cafeteria. "I'll be there in just a minute."

Her friends giving her confused looks, Judy hurried across the room to the table where Nick sat with Trevor and Vanessa, trying to mentally prepare herself for what might happen. She knew there was nothing she could do if Nick decided he didn't want to be friends anymore, but the thought scared her regardless. This felt like her last chance to hold onto their friendship, and she didn't want to mess it up.

"Um…Nick?" she said timidly as she approached the table.

All three foxes stopped talking and turned to her, causing Judy to freeze. Trevor and Vanessa both had disdainful looks on their faces, or at least that's how they looked to Judy. Nick just looked surprised to see her.

"Hi, Judy," Nick said. "Why…why are you here?"

Judy started to speak, but she was unnerved by the other two foxes watching her. Her heart rate started to increase and she was panicking.

" _You have to say something, Judy!"_ she screamed internally. _"This is your chance! Don't pay attention to those two; just talk to your friend!"_

"Are you going to talk, or are you just going to stand there looking scared?" Vanessa asked, chuckling.

"She's not going to talk," Trevor laughed. "She's too afraid we'll eat her if she says something wrong."

Both Trevor and Vanessa had a laugh at this, and Judy clenched her fists in outrage, furious enough to scream at the two foxes but still too nervous to open her mouth. Nick glanced between Judy and the other foxes, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hey…" he finally said calmly, holding up his paws. "Look, it's not her fault she's scared. Let me just—"

"I am _not_ scared!" Judy blurted out, her anger finally overcoming her fear.

Trevor and Vanessa laughed again, looking at Judy like an ancient predator would have a prey they were about to eat. Almost instinctively, Judy felt herself freeze up again, as if some part of her was telling her it wasn't a good idea to bother with these mammals.

"Hey, you guys," Nick said nervously. "Can you please not scare her like that? Judy's my friend."

Those words warmed Judy's heart; at least, if nothing else, she knew that Nick still viewed her as a friend. She would have been smug about how annoyed Trevor and Vanessa looked after Nick's reprimand, but she was too busy focusing on just how good it felt to hear her friend still stand up for her like that.

"I'll be right back," Nick said, getting up from the table. "I'm just going to go see what she wants, ok? I'm sure it won't take long."

He left the table and led Judy over to a quiet corner of the cafeteria, where they were out of the way of other students and wouldn't have to risk being overheard. Both kits were silent for a few awkward moments, before Nick broke the silence.

"So…what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked.

"I…" Judy started, hesitating. "I just wanted to know…why do you never…? Am I not your friend anymore, Nick? I never see you anymore and I…"

She had to stop herself before she started crying again, but judging from Nick's sympathetic expression he understood what she was trying to say. He put a paw on her shoulder, and Judy realized it had been a long time since he had comforted her this way. Looking into his green eyes—which despite his calm expression looked just as fierce as ever—she was reminded of how much time had passed since they first met. Was Nick still the same kit who had stood up for her two years ago? Or were those days finally coming to a close?

"Judy…" Nick said softly. "I'm sorry I haven't seen you a lot lately. You are still my friend and you'll always be my friend, but I…I'm a predator, and I just don't feel like I fit in with all of your friends right now."

Judy closed her eyes tightly, determined not to cry. Once she was confident she'd held back the tears, she looked Nick in the eyes again.

"But you fit in with Trevor and Vanessa, right?" she said, her tone a little more accusative than she had intended.

"Look, I'm sorry for the way they treated you," Nick replied. "I've tried to explain to them that we're friends, but they don't really understand."

"Do they treat all prey like that?" Judy asked.

"Yeah…" Nick sighed. "I don't really like it, but—"

"But you still hang out with them anyway, don't you?" Judy said harshly.

"You still hang out with that bunny who hates predators!" Nick shot back, anger creeping into his tone now too. "I'm sure I'd have to cover my snout when I talk, to hide my fangs, if I came back to sit with you guys now! Why can't you understand I need this?"

"Need _what_?" Judy demanded. "Need to scare helpless prey just so you can feel like a 'real' predator? I thought you were different than them, Nick!"

"Who is this ' _them_ ' you're referring to, huh?" Nick challenged. "And since when do you call yourself a _helpless prey_? I thought you hated being looked at that way."

"Y-you're missing the point!" Judy replied angrily.

"Doesn't look that way to me," Nick said. "I think I understand perfectly. And by the way, I wasn't planning on staying away forever, but I'm not sure I want to come back and sit with you after this."

He turned to walk away, back towards the table with Trevor and Vanessa.

"Nick, wait!" Judy pleaded, following after him.

"Just leave me alone!" Nick shouted back.

Judy stopped and stood there, watching as her friend walked away and doing her best not to cry. Telling herself she could worry about it later, she made herself turn around and go back to the table where the rest of her friends were waiting for her.

"Don't ask me about it," she said as she took her seat.

"O-ok," Sharla replied.

Her friends shared concerned glances, but didn't press her any further. They could tell that whatever had happened, Judy did not want to be forced to relive it right now.

* * *

Judy had expected the end of her time in elementary school to be a bittersweet experience, but instead it just felt disappointing. It was almost as if it hadn't happened at all; the years had come to an end and that was all there was to it. She wasn't reliving all the memories she'd made there, and she wasn't eagerly looking forward to the future either. She was simply tired, tired of thinking about Nick and their conversation, tired of trying to understand why he had changed so much, tired of not having a moment to let her emotions calm down.

Thankfully, with a long summer ahead before the beginning of sixth grade, Judy figured she would get her chance to relax and take a break from all of her school drama, to just be herself again and not have to feel stressed about anything.

A few weeks into the summer, Judy found herself walking outside around the farm, trying to clear her head and get some time to herself. It was so hard to think inside the crowded burrow, especially during summer when all of her siblings were home and more energetic than ever.

While Judy was walking, she came across her older siblings Peter and Chloe, both of whom seemed to have had the same idea about going for a walk to get some space to think. They were both talking and laughing; they seemed so carefree and Judy immediately wanted to join them.

"…and then she said she thinks he's lying about the whole thing, so I don't know who to believe anymore," Chloe was saying as Judy ran up to join them.

"Chloe, I barely understood a word of that," Peter laughed. "How do you keep all this stuff in your head?"

"Hi, guys!" Judy said.

"Oh, hi, Judy!" Chloe replied. "Did you want to walk with us? Peter and I are just complaining about obnoxious mammals at school."

"Sure," Judy said.

"You know, Judy, I haven't seen you that much lately," Peter noted. "You're keeping to yourself a lot now, kind of like Chloe used to when she—"

"Shut up!" Chloe interrupted, laughing nervously. "You do plenty of your own weird things, you know…"

"I've never stolen any of my siblings' homework and then proceeded to lose it, though," Peter said.

"That was over a year ago!" Chloe replied. "And I'm still mad you got rid of it…"

"It was _homework_ , Chloe!" Peter laughed. "I gave it to my teacher, like I was _supposed_ to do, which I would have done _sooner_ if _someone_ hadn't lost it."

"What are you guys talking about?" Judy asked curiously.

She had always liked the way Peter and Chloe argued with each other while still getting along and having a good time; it was definitely something she couldn't do with _James_. Plus, she needed something to take her mind off Nick, and this seemed as good a topic as any.

"Do you remember when Peter wrote that history paper on the war that he wouldn't let me read?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, I think I remember you saying that a while ago," Judy confirmed.

"Did she ever tell you about the part where she snuck into my room and took the paper, and then lost it under her bed so I had to turn it in two weeks late?" Peter added, eliciting further nervous laughing from Chloe.

"No…I don't remember _that_ part," Judy laughed.

"I still wish I could skip a few more grades so I could hurry up and take that class," Chloe lamented.

"You'll be bored for a lot of it, though," Peter said. "It isn't all just about predators; there's a lot of other history you'd probably sleep through."

"Hey, Chloe?" Judy asked, a thought having just occurred to her.

"Yeah?" Chloe said.

"Why are you so interested in predators, anyway?" Judy asked.

"I…they're just…cool," Chloe answered, sounding a little nervous. "I don't really know how else to explain it. But you already know that, since you're friends with a fox."

"Yeah…" Judy said. "Actually, Nick isn't really…we're not talking to each other right now…"

"What?" Chloe exclaimed. "Why not? Weren't you guys like, best friends or something? What happened? I noticed he hadn't come over in a while, but I thought that—"

"Chloe, slow down and let your sister explain," Peter said, shaking his head.

Chloe glared at him, but shut up nonetheless.

"Well…" Judy started hesitantly. "Several months ago, Nick met these other two foxes who invited him to sit with them, and he started hanging out with them a lot more. But, they're also not very nice to prey, so I went to talk to him about them and—"

"'Not nice' _how_ , exactly?" Chloe interrupted curiously.

"Well, I mean, sometimes they try to scare prey by acting like they're going to eat them or something," Judy said. "So I—"

"Wait, really?" Chloe asked. "Like, what kind of stuff did they say exactly? They didn't, like, actually threaten to eat someone, did they?"

"Well, no," Judy admitted. "But they've definitely used their predator traits to scare prey. Like, when I went up to the table to talk to Nick—"

"What do they do exactly?" Chloe pressed. "Do you ever hear them snarl? Do they bare their fangs—?"

"Chloe!" Judy exclaimed, while Peter was quietly laughing and shaking his head. "Do you actually want to hear what happened, or are you just going to keep asking me about Nick's new friends?"

"Oh!" Chloe said, looking embarrassed. "I'm…sorry; I got a bit…carried away. Anyway, you can continue. I'll try to shut up now. Peter, if you don't quit laughing, I'm going to pull your ears off!"

This, interestingly enough, only caused Peter to laugh even harder, while Chloe glared at him. Judy wondered if Peter knew something more about Chloe's interest in predators that she didn't, since it seemed to be something of an inside joke among them. But, she didn't want to ask either of them about it right now, what with everything else going on.

"You can carry on, Judy," Peter said, once he'd finally stopped laughing.

"Yeah, and for your brother's sake you'd better talk for a long time, because I'm going to kill him once you get done," Chloe added.

"Well, the thing is…" Judy started, trying to remember her place. "I went to ask Nick if there was a reason that he didn't want to sit with us anymore, and he said…he said he wanted to hang out with his own kind…"

"Wait, did he say you weren't good enough for him because you're a bunny?" Chloe asked, starting to sound angry. "If he did, I'll go over to his house right now and—"

"No, that's not it!" Judy corrected. "It's just…he said he didn't fit in with me and my friends because we're all prey and he's the only predator."

"I guess that would get to be lonely," Chloe said thoughtfully. "He probably worries about scaring you when he's with you and all your other friends. It might be hard for him to really be himself… It's not your fault, though."

"That's almost exactly what Nick said!" Judy exclaimed. "But I don't understand! Why should it be so hard for him to be himself around us just because he's a predator? It's not like you have to act…well, _predatory_ , just because you're a predator."

"Did you ever think that maybe he wants to, though?" Chloe suggested.

"What does that mean?" Judy demanded, starting to feel a little frustrated. "Nick is a nice kit; he wouldn't want to scare prey or hurt them or—"

"Why do you assume he has to be aggressive to other mammals in order to be, as you call it, ' _predatory_ '?" Chloe asked. "Look, I don't know him that well, so I could be wrong, but…maybe he just wants to be able to growl and show off his fangs and all that without prey telling him he's too 'scary' or whatever."

"Wh-what…?" Judy said, now feeling even more confused. "Why would he need to growl? Are you assuming he has anger problems or something?"

"No, but…here, look," Chloe explained. "Telling a predator kit he can't ever snarl and has to keep his fangs hidden all the time would be like telling a bunny kit not to jump. And you've seen how well that works when Mom tries it."

"I…I guess so…" Judy replied uncertainly. "But it just seems so…aggressive."

"That's how it seems to prey because our instincts tell us to be afraid of those things," Chloe said. "Or something like that. Anyway, the point is that he probably feels like he can't do any of that around you because he's trying not to scare you. Especially after what happened with Gideon Grey, and that little incident you had the first time he—oops! I wasn't supposed to say anything, was I? Peter, if you repeat any of this, I'll bury you alive."

"I've already gotten so many death threats from you I've lost count," Peter said. "And I won't tell anyone what you're talking about, but I really have no idea what it is anyway, so you shouldn't need to worry."

"You're right you don't know what it is," Chloe said threateningly.

"It doesn't matter if anyone knows about that accident _now_ ," Judy said. "That was two whole years ago. Besides, Nick isn't talking to me now anyway, so I don't…"

She stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

" _I will_ not _cry this time!"_ she thought furiously.

"Judy, are you alright?" Chloe asked, concern in her voice. "Hey, come here, little sis."

Chloe bent down and pulled Judy into a hug, embracing her younger sister tightly as she started to cry again. A few seconds passed and Judy pulled herself together again, wiping the tears away. She was so tired of being an emotional little bunny; she was supposed to be strong and confident, but the tears seemed to come every time she thought about Nick.

"I just wish he was still my friend," Judy said, her voice still a little choked up. "But even if what you say is true, the other foxes he was hanging out with were really mean to other kits for no reason!"

"Maybe Nick feels like he doesn't have anywhere else to go," Chloe suggested. "You just need to let him feel comfortable being himself around you, and then he won't need to hang out with those jerks."

"I guess…" Judy said. "But I doubt he's going to want to listen to anything I have to say _now_!"

"Just…give it time, then," Chloe replied. "Maybe by the time school starts back, you'll both have cooled off a bit. Look, I've been in a lot of stupid fights with my friends, so you're not alone in this. You and Nick were really close, so I'm sure he'll come around eventually. But…until then, maybe you just need to think about something else for a while."

"Yeah…you're right," Judy agreed. "Thanks a lot, Chloe."

Chloe smiled.

"Hey, that's what you're totally awesome big sister is here for," she said. "Now, since we've gotten that all worked out…who's on board to go eat some blueberries?"

"Oh, no, not again," Peter muttered.

"I like that plan, Chloe!" Judy replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL Mark is definitely me. I never know what to do when someone is crying. :'(
> 
> What did you guys think of the chapter? Let me know!
> 
> Also, HAPPY ASEXUAL AWARENESS WEEK TO ALL OF MY FELLOW ACES OUT THERE! (if any of you are reading this lol)


	15. Worst First Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Apologies to everyone again; it took longer than I intended.
> 
> Apparently, I seem to write about school a lot, which is interesting considering I've never actually BEEN to school. Which means I've had to ask my dad a few (or rather, a lot of) questions about how everything works and all that. Hopefully it's accurate enough! XD
> 
> Also, I am SO ready for this infernal post-election drama to end. I swear, if I see ONE MORE political post ranting about stuff that makes absolutely no sense, I am going to freaking lose it. (that is, if i haven't already)
> 
> Anyway, Zephyr Fyrian (ZephyrRhiesFyrian on this site) proofread this chapter, as usual. Enjoy!

After a long and quiet summer, the day had finally arrived. The day Judy had been both dreading and eagerly awaiting for months. It was the first day of sixth grade, the first day of junior high school. It was the beginning of a completely new chapter of her life, and she had forgotten to set her alarm the previous night.

Judy hurried to get ready as she fought against the fatigue, hoping she'd be fully awake by the time she got to school. She could barely think with all of the bunnies running around everywhere, and she was already much later than she ever wanted to be.

"Why did I think I would be ready?" Judy muttered angrily, hurrying to fix herself some breakfast and trying not to bump into any of her siblings. "Stupid, stupid, dumb bunny."

"Are you talking about me?" James suddenly exclaimed.

"I wasn't, but that works too," Judy replied tiredly.

"Hey!" James protested.

"Look," Judy said, looking her brother directly in the eye. "Here's the deal: I'm not going to deal with your nonsense another whole year, so either you stop annoying me or I will devote every waking moment of my time towards making your sixth grade a living hell. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, whatever," James muttered, turning to walk away.

Judy sighed heavily, taking her breakfast and heading for the door. The inside of the burrow was starting to feel like it was suffocating her, and in her barely awake state, it was absolute misery. She sat down on the porch and started to eat, jumping in her seat when she noticed Chloe standing outside as well.

"Chloe!" Judy exclaimed.

"Cheese and crackers, Judy, what's gotten you all worked up this morning?" Chloe asked.

"Forgot to set my alarm," Judy explained.

"Ah," Chloe said. "Yeah, but on the plus side, sixth grade is terrible anyway, so this will probably be the best part of your year."

"Is…that supposed to make me feel better…?" Judy asked.

Chloe shrugged.

"It's just a fact," she said. "You can do whatever you want with it. But that reminds me, we're going to be in the same school again this year. So, if you ever need anything, you can always come find me, ok? This year is probably going to suck, but I can certainly try to help make it suck less for you if you want."

"Thanks," Judy replied.

"If you don't mind me asking, though…" Chloe started uncertainly. "Have you even seen… _you know who_ since before the summer?"

"No," Judy said sadly. "I wish I had talked to him, but…I don't know what to say. And now it's been so long… I don't even know if he'll still _want_ to be my friend now. Maybe he really has moved on. I don't want to get my hopes up."

Chloe sat down next to her younger sister and nuzzled her gently, something she often did to comfort her.

"If he doesn't want to be friends with the world's most awesome bunny, then that's his problem," she said firmly.

Judy looked her sister in the eye, and smiled.

"Thanks, Chloe," she said. "In any case, it'll be good to see Sharla again. Her family was so busy this summer; I haven't seen her since fifth grade either."

"See, that's good," Chloe said. "Just try to stay positive. Your friends have your back, and so does your totally cool older sister. Peter would too, but he's in high school, so he can't help us anymore."

"Probably doing more homework you want to read," Judy laughed.

"Oh, shut up!" Chloe giggled. "Hey, wait a minute. If Nick's in sixth grade now…does that mean those friends of his are too?"

"I'm sure they are," Judy sighed, rolling her eyes. "We were all in the same grade, so unless they moved—which would be awesome—then it looks like they're going to be here too."

"Hmm…" Chloe said thoughtfully. "I might just have to introduce myself, in that case."

Judy snorted in amusement.

"You are one strange bunny, Chloe," she remarked.

"And proud of it," Chloe agreed.

* * *

Judy climbed onto the bus, nervously anticipating what junior high would be like. Chloe had tried to prepare her over the summer by explaining how everything worked, but she couldn't help but feel at least a little uncertain now that her first day was finally here.

"Hi, Judy!" called a familiar voice.

Judy spun around to see the black sheep she'd missed all summer. Sharla looked like she was about to burst with excitement, but also the slightest bit nervous too. Judy hurried over to sit next to her friend, feeling a little less scared knowing she wouldn't be going in alone.

"Hi, Sharla," Judy said. "It's good to see you again."

"You too!" Sharla replied. "Hey, are you alright? You look a little…out of it."

"Forgot to set my alarm," Judy explained. "I know, worst possible day to make that mistake, but I did."

"Don't worry," Sharla laughed. "You're not the only one that had a rough morning. Gareth was up getting ready at, like, 5:00 in the morning and woke me up. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I just sat up in bed for a while and eventually just gave up and got ready early. Don't be too surprised if I fall asleep halfway through class today."

"Neither of us are starting this year very well, are we?" Judy remarked.

"No, definitely not," Sharla agreed.

When they arrived at the school, Judy and Sharla got off the bus and walked in together. It was the first time they had ever seen the junior high building up close, and Judy couldn't help but feel a little excited, even if it wasn't the perfect first day. This was the beginning of something new, and she hoped that it would turn out better than the end of elementary school had.

"Feels weird, doesn't it?" Sharla remarked. "It looks like such a normal place, but it's weird that it's not the same as the other building was."

"I'm sure we'll get used to it," Judy said, trying to convince herself as well. "My sister Chloe got used to it eventually…"

"Isn't she the one that steals all the blueberries or something?" Sharla asked.

"Yeah, and she also wants to be bitten by predators, apparently," Judy said.

"Wait, what?" Sharla laughed. "I never heard anything about _that_."

"Oh, right!" Judy said. "That was a few years ago when I asked her about that Trust Ritual thing. She was really interested in it for some reason, and when I asked her I'm pretty sure she said she thought it would be fun to be bitten."

"Interesting," Sharla said, still laughing awkwardly. "That's…unusual. I've never heard of a prey that wants to be bitten by a predator."

"What are you two talking about?" another voice intruded.

It was Samantha, the white bunny that Judy had gotten into an argument with a while back. Their friendship had been a little bit shaky ever since then, especially since she hadn't started to hang around Judy again until Nick ran off with Trevor and Vanessa, a fact that Judy knew full well was no coincidence.

Judy knew it was probably petty to still be angry with Samantha now, since she wasn't speaking to Nick either now, but old feelings were hard to put aside. It was probably because a part of her was still hoping that her fight with Nick would sort itself out soon enough, and then they would be friends again. Having Samantha around just served as a reminder that that hadn't happened yet, and the vindictive part of Judy still mildly resented her for that.

"Stuff you wouldn't be able to handle," Judy answered, unable to help herself.

Samantha rolled her eyes.

" _Wow_ ," she remarked. "Sixth grade and you're still behaving like a whiny kit. How surprising. Well, if you ever want to have a civilized conversation, you know where to find me."

The white rabbit turned to walk away, and Sharla glanced back and forth between her and Judy with a stunned expression.

"I—wait, Samantha!" Sharla called after her.

Samantha turned back around and looked at Sharla with a face that made Judy clench her fists.

"Oh, hi, Sharla; didn't see you there," Samantha said, though Judy knew for a fact it was a lie. "It's a shame your friend there has a vendetta against me and refuses to grow up. I'm surprised you're still hanging out with her. I would have thought you were smarter than that."

With that, she spun around and walked off down the hall, leaving both Judy and Sharla with stunned looks. They glanced between Samantha and each other for a few seconds, incredulous, and then both burst out laughing.

"Did that really just happen?" Judy laughed, trying to conceal the internal rage she felt towards the other bunny.

"What happened between you two, anyway?" Sharla asked. "It seems like she's always a little…high maintenance lately."

"She still hates predators and only came back to pretend to be my friend because Nick left," Judy explained. "Once Nick comes back, she'll probably want nothing to do with me anymore. I've tried with her, but she never listens."

"But…are you sure Nick _is_ going to come back?" Sharla asked hesitantly. "I mean…he seemed pretty mad at you, and that was back before the summer—"

"He'll be fine," Judy said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "I'll go find him and explain everything, and then we'll be fine again. You'll see."

Sharla didn't look at all convinced, but she didn't say anything. Judy herself was still worried about what would happen with Nick, but she didn't want to admit that she thought it was a real possibility their friendship may have really ended last spring. It just didn't feel right for it to end that way.

As they walked down the hall, Judy caught sight of Nick walking with Trevor and Vanessa. As some of the only foxes in the school, they weren't easy to miss. All three of them walked with a confidence that she had never seen from Nick before, one that frightened her somewhat. She wanted so badly to run up to Nick and talk to him, but…she felt frozen. She didn't know what she was so afraid of; maybe finding out that Nick had become just like his friends and wanted nothing to do with her anymore? She couldn't bear that thought, and the fear that it might be true was enough to keep her from even trying to start a conversation with her old friend.

When they reached the classroom—which she evidently was not sharing with Nick—Sharla turned to her with another stunned look.

"Why didn't you talk to him?" she whispered. "Didn't you see him? He was right there!"

"I know; I know," Judy replied. "I just…I don't know; I'll try to talk to him later."

Sharla nodded, though again she still looked worried. Judy tried to put her fears aside as she entered the classroom and took her seat. She didn't recognize anyone else in the room aside from Sharla, but she reminded herself that this was only homeroom and she wasn't going to be here very long anyway. It was strange to think about not being in one classroom all day, but it made her feel more hopeful that she might share some classes with more of her friends. There was of course a part of her that hoped—perhaps foolishly—that she would share at least one class with Nick, and this could help her break the ice with him.

" _Don't get your hopes up, Judy,"_ she told herself. _"Just be grateful that Sharla's still here. You haven't seen Clara and Mark again yet, either. It's going to be fine, whether you get the chance to talk to Nick or not."_

As much as she might try, though, Judy knew there was no way to avoid it. No matter how much she tried to lower her expectations, she was still going to be devastated if things didn't work out with Nick. She was going to have to face him eventually, one way or another, even if it meant ending their friendship for good.

"Alright, class!" shouted a deep voice that startled Judy out of her thought. "Let's get excited about morning announcements! Who's with me?"

It was a conscious effort for Judy to hold in a laugh. The teacher was a moose, and a big one even for his species. Judy couldn't tell if he was being silly or if he was actually enthusiastic about his job, but either way she instantly liked him. Having a teacher who wasn't boring to listen to made school feel like a lot less of a chore.

" _Maybe this year won't be so bad after all,"_ Judy thought hopefully.

* * *

A few hours later, Judy was on her way to her locker, Sharla following beside her. She still hadn't seen Nick again since the morning, but there were a lot of hours left in the day. There was a chance she might get the opportunity to talk to him later, and she didn't want to let it slip away like she had the last time.

"What did you think of that morning announcements guy?" Sharla laughed. "Do you think they're all like that?"

"I don't know; I think we just got lucky," Judy said. "I think I'd rather listen to him than that annoying old buck in math class today…"

"Wow, was he that bad?" Sharla asked. "Sorry I can't be there to support you."

"It's ok; Mark's in that class too, and I think he was a little disturbed too," Judy replied. "I mean, it's like he wanted us to—"

"Wait, stop!" Sharla whispered loudly.

She put a hoof over Judy's mouth and pulled them back a little, hiding around the corner. Judy was just about to protest when she heard a familiar voice, one she had hoped she wouldn't have to hear again. Peeking around the corner, she saw Nick's new friend Vanessa talking to Samantha.

"And where do you think you're going, _prey_?" Vanessa snarled.

She moved closer to Samantha, who backed away slowly until she bumped into the lockers behind her. Judy's heart started pounding as an anger built up inside her, only held back by her instinctual fear of predators.

"I-I don't understand what you want from me," Samantha said, maintaining her cool surprisingly well despite the circumstances. "I would appreciate it if you would step out of my way and—"

Vanessa growled again, moving even closer so as to trap the rabbit against the wall of lockers. Samantha looked genuinely scared now, not even trying to fight back. Several other mammals—all of them prey—were also walking down the hall, but they looked like they were doing their best to avoid the vixen at all costs.

"Are you scared of me, bunny?" Vanessa laughed coldly. "What are you going to do if I don't let you go? You think you're so brave, but you can't hide from predators forever!"

"Stop!" Samantha protested, her voice losing its calmness now. "I wasn't bothering you at all, so why do you feel the need to act like this to me?"

Vanessa leaned in closer, causing Samantha to shrink down beneath her.

"I just want you to know powerless you really are," the vixen said. "If I decide I want to eat you, there is _nothing_ you can do to stop me. How does that make you—?"

"Hey!" Judy shouted.

Taking one last glance at Sharla—who looked terrified now—Judy jumped out from behind the corner and ran up to Vanessa and Samantha, anger finally overtaking fear. She had a brief relapse of terror when the fox turned to face her, seemingly staring her down as if she really did intend to eat her, but Judy fought through it.

"I don't care what you want to say to me, but I will _not_ let you treat my friends like that," Judy said bravely. "Who do you think you are, anyway? Predators don't eat prey anymore; sorry if you missed the memo, but that ended millennia ago."

Judy felt a surge of pride at speaking these words, being able to stand up for herself, but it was soon replaced once again by fear when Vanessa stepped forward and snarled, baring her fangs.

" _Come on, Judy; you've seen Nick's teeth all the time and you're not scared of them anymore!"_ she scolded herself. _"Don't be afraid of_ this _fox!"_

"And what do you think a couple of cute bunnies like yourselves could do if we preds decided to go back to the old ways?" Vanessa said, smirking.

" _Cute_?!" Judy exclaimed furiously. "You think we're just fluffy and helpless, don't you? Guess you didn't hear about when I kicked Gideon Grey in the face, did you?"

"Um, Judy…?" Sharla started nervously.

"Well, I'll admit you're one of the bravest bunnies I've met," Vanessa said, stepping back. "Alright, I'll leave you alone for now, I guess. Plenty of other helpless prey here, after all. Just don't get in my way again, little bunny."

With that, she spun around and walked away, brushing Judy with her tail as she did so. Judy clenched her fists, but didn't pursue the fox. She didn't want this to escalate any further than it already had, but she was downright furious.

"Are you alright, Sam?" she asked, reaching a paw out to her still trembling friend.

"I…yes, I'm fine," Samantha replied, straightening herself up. "I could have handled her on my own, anyway."

"Oh, really?" Judy laughed, her empathy for the white bunny fading again. "Didn't look like it to me. But hey, if you want to get eaten, be my guest."

"Y-you don't think she'd really try to eat us, do you?" Sharla asked, shaking a little.

"No, I don't think so," Judy assured her, placing a paw on the sheep's shoulder. "She's just trying to scare us. I'm going to have a few choice words for Nick about this when I see him again…"

Sharla still looked nervous, but she nodded anyway.

"I can't believe you still insist on being friends with that fox after what just happened," Samantha said. "Do you really hate me that much? Don't even bother answering that; I know what the answer is."

"This isn't about you!" Judy shouted. "And I don't like Vanessa either, but Nick isn't like that!"

Samantha shook her head.

"You're just making excuses for him," she said bitterly. "You know the predators would be far happier if they were still hunting and eating us, no matter how much they pretend to act civil. If what just happened doesn't make that clear to you, I don't know what will."

She turned and walked away without another word, and Judy had to fight the urge to scream. She couldn't believe that even now after all this time, Samantha still refused to accept the most basic and obvious truths. And though she didn't want to admit it, there was a small part of her that wondered if there was some truth to her friend's words. Nick had admitted he didn't feel comfortable trying to act like a prey, whatever that meant, so did that mean there was a part of him that longed to be a 'real' predator? Was that why his friends were so mean to other kits, because they had some instinctual desire to be _predatory_?

" _Don't be silly, Judy; you know that's not true,"_ she told herself. _"There are plenty of predators in the world who don't act like that, so it can't be something all of them want. But still…why would Nick want to be friends with_ them _? Can't he see what they're like?"_

Judy sighed, turning back to Sharla.

"Let's get our stuff and hurry to class," she said, defeated and tired. "We don't want to be late for anything on our first day."

"Yeah, you're right," Sharla agreed.

* * *

By the time Judy's lunch period arrived, she was still thinking about the encounter with Vanessa, and what Samantha had said. She hadn't seen Nick yet, or either of his friends again, but she had already met up with Mark and Clara, and she and Sharla were explaining the earlier events to them as they walked to the cafeteria.

"Did she really say that?" Clara gasped. "She wouldn't actually eat someone, though…right?"

"I don't know…it sure sounds like she wanted to…" Mark replied nervously.

"You guys, you're being ridiculous!" Judy said. "Surely you don't think she would really eat one of us, do you? She might be a jerk, but she's still just another kit like us. She's not going to murder another student in the middle of the school!"

"What was all that about going back to the old ways, then…?" Sharla asked.

"She's trying to scare you!" Judy explained. "And apparently it's working, since all of you are afraid she's going to try to come eat you. Look, I'll just go talk to Nick and I'm sure he can smooth everything over, ok? I know _he_ wouldn't want to hurt anyone…"

Judy's attention was briefly taken away when they entered the cafeteria. She had almost forgotten they were in a different school now, but seeing the cafeteria look completely different brought that right back to the front of her mind. It was smaller than the one at the elementary school, but she was struck by how much bigger the other mammals were. When she had finished elementary school, she had been among the oldest students, but that was reversed now. It didn't really help her confidence, but at least she knew she had an older sister who could look out for her if she was ever overwhelmed.

"So…where do you guys want to sit?" Mark asked, looking around nervously. "I'm not used to this place…"

"It's alright," Clara assured him. "Just follow us and you'll be fine."

Judy led the way through the line, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She knew there shouldn't be anything to worry about in here, but all her friends talking about predators wanting to eat everyone was starting to make her feel the slightest bit nervous too.

Thankfully, the line went just like any day at elementary school would, with no trouble at all. Judy was leading her friends over to an empty table, when she heard some angry voices to the right and turned to see what was going on. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat when she saw Nick, Trevor, and Vanessa over by another table, in what looked like a standoff with Judy's brother James and some other bunnies she didn't recognize.

"This was _our_ table!" James complained. "If you losers don't get out of here—"

He was cut off by a loud growl from Trevor, who looked like he'd grown a bit from the last time Judy had seen him.

"We predators will take whatever table we want," he said threateningly. "So unless _you_ want to be our lunch, I suggest you get lost and find somewhere else to sit, _prey_."

Judy already didn't like Trevor and Vanessa, but hearing how they said 'prey' in such a disdainful way only made her angrier. They seemed to think that prey were beneath them, and that they could treat them however they wanted to just because they were predators. And the worst part of it was, unless Judy continued standing up to them, they weren't likely to stop.

" _If only the rest of the prey would realize we outnumber them like crazy,"_ she thought. _"But they're all too afraid to stand up and help each other…"_

"I-I'm not going anywhere, _fox_!" James shouted back, clearly trying to sound brave. "Y-you'd better get out of here or—"

Trevor snarled again, and then leaned forward and snapped his jaws right in front of James's face. The rabbit immediately went running, his buddies following right behind him. Judy wasn't sure how to feel; she was angry at the foxes for abusing their strength like this, but on the other paw she kind of thought James deserved it.

"D-do you think they'll come over to our table?" Sharla asked nervously.

"If they do, I'm not moving," Judy said firmly. "I'm sick and tired of them pushing everyone around like this. Though, it is kind of nice to see James get humiliated. He really is an obnoxious brat."

As they sat down at an empty table—one that was far away from the foxes—Sharla kept glancing back and forth from the predators' table to Judy.

"Do you think…Nick is really one of them now?" she asked.

She looked genuinely worried, as did Clara and Mark. Judy didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to worry too. Even if she hadn't seen Nick threaten anyone the way his friends did, she _had_ seen him watch the whole thing play out and do nothing to stop it.

"I don't know," Judy said. "I'll…I'll talk to him eventually. I'm sure there's a good explanation for all of this…"

" _But_ what _?"_ she thought. _"You have to face the truth; your friend might not be who he used to be anymore…"_

* * *

The rest of the day wasn't any easier for Judy. Any excitement about new classes and new teachers was completely gone now, replaced by nothing except a hollow feeling of despair. She wanted so badly to talk to Nick again, to hear him assure her he hadn't changed, but she wasn't sure there was much hope of that happening now. She didn't know if she could take it if he told her outright that he really had moved on, that he was just like Trevor and Vanessa and didn't care anymore if he scared helpless prey or not.

Judy held out hope until the end of school that she would see Nick in one of her classes, but it didn't happen. She consoled herself knowing that she did at least share a lunch period with him, if she ever worked up the courage to actually go and talk to him, but right now she didn't think she'd be doing that anytime soon anyway.

By the time she got home, Judy didn't even want to go inside the burrow. She had too much on her mind and didn't want to be around all her loud siblings right now. So, she went for a walk around the farm, ending up by the blueberries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she ran into her sister Chloe.

"Judy?" Chloe said. "Hey, are you alright?"

Judy closed her eyes, realizing she was starting to cry. She had tried to hold it in, but she knew it was going to have to come out sooner or later. There was no sign that things were going to get better anytime soon, so there was no use pretending it was all fine.

Eyes still shut tight, Judy felt Chloe pull her into a warm embrace, stroking her ears to comfort her. Judy buried her face in her sister's chest, reminding herself she didn't have to hide her emotions around this bunny. Chloe would always be there for her, no matter what happened, and right now that was all Judy could hope for.

"I saw Nick and his friends in the lunch room today," Chloe said. "Do you want me to talk to them for you?"

"No…" Judy replied, tears still filling her eyes. "I just…I don't know what to do now."

"I know," Chloe said gently. "But have you talked to him yet?"

"I'm just scared he's going to say he doesn't care about me anymore!" Judy cried, voice breaking. "His friends treat prey like we're lesser than them and if Nick said he thought that too, I don't think I could take it…"

"I'm sure he doesn't really think that," Chloe assured her. "He's probably just scared you won't accept him for who he is, especially after everything that's happened. You just need to let him know he can still be a predator without having to hang around those jerks."

Judy sniffed, pulling away from her sister's embrace and wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked up at Chloe, whose expression was so warm and comforting. She wanted to believe her sister was right, and that there was still hope for her and Nick.

"Thank you, Chloe," she said. "I…I'll try to talk to him."

Chloe smiled and patted her sister on the shoulder.

"There's the Judy I know," she said. "And remember, if you get too nervous, you can always bring me with you. I meant to go introduce myself to those preds today, but my stupid nerves got the best of me…"

Judy laughed, smiling for the first time in several hours.

"I don't know if I'll ever understand you, Chloe," she chuckled.

"Hey, that's what's fun about me!" Chloe replied. "Now, should we go inside and see if dinner's ready? I don't know about you, but I'm excited to hear how James is gonna twist the story of what happened at lunch today to make himself sound like a hero."

"Yeah, let's go inside," Judy agreed.

Chloe held out her paw for Judy to take, and with that, the two bunny sisters walked back across the farm together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so much fun watching Zephyr Fyrian react to these chapters. She can't STAND Samantha! And my mom doesn't like Trevor and Vanessa... XD
> 
> Also, I'm planning to write more of Nick's perspective in the next chapter, so we'll get to see exactly what he's thinking throughout all of this.
> 
> That's all for now! Bye!


	16. The Crossroads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a bit of a hectic weekend, so unfortunately I haven't been writing much the last few days. Today, though, I had another burst of energy and was able to get this chapter finished! I also forgot to clarify in the last chapter when I said I didn't go to school (and someone asked me about it lol) that I was homeschooled. So I didn't go to school, but I did still get an education. XD
> 
> As usual, proofreading credit goes to the awesome ZephyrRhiesFyrian.
> 
> OK also prepare yourself for frustration in this chapter because ughhhhhhhhh :(

Nick couldn't remember ever feeling so free in his life, even before he moved to Bunnyburrow. He had been disheartened by how he and Judy had left things at the end of the spring semester, but Trevor and Vanessa had come by several times to hang out with him during the summer, and it wasn't long before he was feeling a lot better. Not only did he have friends to talk to, but he soon learned to be comfortable as himself and started to drop the calm act he'd gotten so used to ever since meeting Judy.

At first, it felt a little off. Trevor and Vanessa were constantly amused whenever Nick would instinctively talk under his breath to hide his fangs, or keep his voice down so as not to seem threatening. When he met them, he was barely able to eat in public without worrying he'd scare someone, but by the end of the summer he felt like a completely different mammal. Being with other foxes had definitely changed him; even Brendan could tell.

"You seem…kind of scary now, Nick," he had said before their first day of school. "But, like, in a good way. Does that make any sense?"

"No," Nick had replied, smiling. "But I think I like the sound of it."

His first day of school had gone even better than expected. At first, he was worried about being back in a school full of prey all over again, but he soon realized that his former apprehensions were all but gone now. Now, instead of looking around at all the prey mammals and worrying that any move he made might scare them, he found himself feeling oddly flattered whenever one of them seemed frightened of him. It wasn't so much that he wanted to scare them, but seeing them show even the slightest signs of fear towards him reminded him that he was a predator, that he was intimidating, and for some reason he liked that feeling.

The only downside to his first few weeks in junior high was Judy. He still hadn't spoken to her since their fight back in the spring, and he had been hopeful that she might come and talk to him again now that a lot of time had passed. He had hoped she would get over whatever it was that made her so angry and want to be friends again, but she never approached him. He saw her in the halls and in the cafeteria a few times, but other than that, it was as if she didn't exist.

And it was this thought that was still racing through Nick's mind as he was walking through the halls one seemingly ordinary day at school, passing by his locker before continuing on his way to his next class. He had picked up everything he'd need for class, when he noticed a light brown bunny trying to gather up several papers that were scattered across the floor. Realizing he still had a good amount of time to get to class, Nick bent down to help her.

"Aah!" the bunny exclaimed, jumping away as Nick's clawed paw came too close to her.

She stood up and backed away, her eyes widening in fear. As Nick looked up at her, he was met with an odd feeling. Seeing her frightened expression had reminded him again that he was a predator, that he was a mammal to be feared, and though he liked that feeling he couldn't help but feel bad for her. He had no intention of trying to act calm and prey-like again, but maybe he could find a way to show this bunny he didn't intend her any harm while still being true to himself.

"Hey, don't worry," he chuckled. "I'm not going to eat you or anything. I just thought you might want some help with this. It looks like you had quite the accident here."

"O-oh…" the bunny said.

She knelt back down by Nick, still shaking a bit as she nervously reached out and started to pick up some more of the papers; notably the ones that were farthest from Nick.

"Why are you so scared anyway?" Nick asked, though he knew it was probably kind of a dumb question.

"I…I mean…" the bunny started hesitantly. "It's just that…your claws…"

"Oh, these?" Nick replied, holding up one paw in front of his face to examine it. "It's ok; I've learned to be careful so I don't hurt anyone with them. Actually, it's kind of helpful that they're so sharp now; it makes it easier to lift these flat pieces of paper off the flat floor."

The bunny giggled nervously.

"Wow, you're right!" she said. "Sorry if I'm a little scared… It's just that I'm not really used to predators and my sister is always telling me to not get close to them…"

"Your sister?" Nick asked. "Wait…June?"

The rabbit nodded.

"I didn't know if you'd remember me," she said. "It's been a long time, and…well, I kind of thought you might hurt me, because those other two foxes are really mean sometimes…"

"You mean Trevor and Vanessa?" Nick replied. "They're not actually that mean once you get to know them; they're actually pretty cool."

"I…I don't know about that…" June said. "I…I think you're pretty cool, though. I never really thought about how your claws might help you; I just thought they were scary…"

Nick chuckled again.

"Hey, they _are_ pretty scary," he said. "Just like we predators are scary. But just because we're scary doesn't mean we're all mean."

Having finished picking up the papers, both kits stood up. They stood still for a few awkward seconds, during which June noticeably didn't make eye contact with Nick.

"June…are you still friends with Judy, by any chance?" Nick asked.

"Not really…" June replied disappointedly. "We haven't really seen each other much in a long time. Sam doesn't even talk to Judy or Sharla or any of our other old friends anymore. Actually, she might get mad if she finds out I'm talking to you… I should probably go."

"Alright, then," Nick said. "See you around, I guess."

June waved goodbye to him and then hurried off down the hall, clutching her papers much tightly. As Nick turned back to continue walking to his next class, he couldn't help but feel a little weird about whatever had just happened. He hadn't realized it until now, but he hadn't really spoken to a prey peer at all since sixth grade started, aside from growling at a few of them who'd complained about having to share 'their' school with a fox. In those interactions, he'd thoroughly enjoyed seeing the frightened looks on the preys' faces, but this was different. There was a part of him that definitely liked how _impressed_ June was by his predatory attributes, but he didn't know that he wanted her to be so _afraid_ of him. It disheartened him a little, thinking about that fearful look in her eyes…

" _Nick, stop this,"_ he told himself, taking a deep calming breath. _"This is exactly where it all went wrong last time. It's not your fault that prey are scared of you, and it isn't your job to make them feel comfortable. You're a predator, and if they can't accept you for who you are, that isn't something you should try to fix."_

Still, it made him sad to think about how many prey mammals might be friends with him if they weren't so uncomfortable around him. Admittedly, it had barely been a month since sixth grade started, but so far no one other than Trevor and Vanessa had made any effort to converse with Nick like an equal. Everyone else either avoided him or tried to outright shame him for his existence. The latter had become much rarer recently, but the cynical part of Nick told him this was likely because they were just too scared to voice their bigoted views around him anymore.

* * *

Later in the day, at lunchtime, Nick was still mulling over what had happened with June as he walked through the line with Trevor and Vanessa, and then went to sit down with them. Once they sat down, he decided he couldn't hold it in anymore and told his friends what happened. Both of them looked a little surprised at the news, giving each other glances before they looked back to him.

"Doesn't it sound like you were trying a _little_ too hard to act like a prey?" Vanessa asked.

"Wait…what?" Nick said, surprised. "I wasn't acting like a prey; I was just trying to let her know that I wasn't going to hurt her. I didn't try to cover up my snout and hide my fangs or anything like I used to."

"I have to agree with Vanessa," Trevor replied. "Why go out of your way to reassure this bunny you're not going to eat her? If she can't figure that out on her own, let her be scared. She's a prey, after all; most of them are always going to be afraid of us anyway. I thought you were trying to embrace that, not still trying to change yourself to be what the _prey_ want you to be."

"But…I…" Nick started, not sure what to say. "I wasn't trying to change myself! I just didn't want to be mean to her. I don't have to scare everyone I come across in order to be a real predator, do I?"

"No, you don't have to go out of your way to make prey uncomfortable; of course not!" Vanessa said. "But what's so wrong with prey being scared of you? We're _predators_ , Nick! They're _supposed_ to be scared of us! Trust me, you'll feel much better about yourself if you just embrace that."

"I…I _guess_ so…" Nick replied, though inside he wasn't so sure. "Trevor, do you think that's true?"

"Absolutely," Trevor agreed. "Those prey will only keep you from being who you were meant to be. They'll keep trying to soften you, but you aren't some fluffy bunny or sheep. Keep your fangs and claws sharp, Nick, like they were meant to be. Don't let them take away from you what makes predators great."

Nick nodded absently, though he wasn't really sure how he felt about what his friends were saying. It all made sense in theory, but he wasn't quite convinced that he would really feel any more like himself if he started snarling at every prey he saw. He had actually been feeling pretty good about his interaction with June; he had felt perfectly comfortable and didn't feel like she was repressing him at all!

" _Then again,"_ Nick thought, _"I did kind of talk really softly to her, probably more than I usually do. Is that really such a bad thing? Do I have to be ferocious_ all _the time, just because I'm a predator? I get that I shouldn't repress myself, but…what if sometimes I actually_ want _to be gentler? Is that just me still being too afraid to be myself…?"_

Nick didn't talk much more for the rest of lunch period; he was too lost in his thoughts to pay much attention to anything else. It just didn't feel right to him that he should have to keep himself from reassuring mammals that might be scared of him. If he wasn't intending to hurt them anyway, where was the harm in letting them know that?

* * *

The next day, Nick made a promise to himself that he would stay true to himself. He was going to make sure nothing he did was done out of any attempt to repress his true feelings, regardless of what the reason was for it. He still didn't think that he had to be mean to everyone in order to be a real predator, but today he was intent on testing that theory and finding out for sure. Surely Trevor and Vanessa would be able to tell if he was really being himself, as opposed to still hiding and trying to act like someone he wasn't. They were his friends, after all, and he had to believe they had his best interests at heart.

As he was walking out to the bus that morning, Brendan turned and looked up at him.

"Hey, Nick?" he said. "How come Judy never comes over anymore? Aren't you still her friend?"

Just seeing the look in his brother's eyes as he asked the question made Nick's heart sink. He told himself there was nothing more he could do to repair his friendship with Judy, but it still made him sad to realize just how far they had gone. Back when they were best friends, it seemed like it would be that way forever. Now, hearing Brendan asking about Judy suddenly made it real that she was gone.

"We…had a bit of a fight back in the spring," Nick explained. "She might still be mad at me about it; I haven't talked to her since then."

"Oh," Brendan said, looking down at the ground sadly. "I was just wondering because Mallory says she hasn't seen you in a long time either."

"So…you and Mallory are still friends, then?" Nick asked. "You never get mad at each other or have fights or anything?"

"No…" Brendan replied. "Well, sometimes we do fight a little bit, but we always make up really quick and then we get along again. Sometimes some of the other kits are mean to her, so I stand up for her. Did you know that a lot of mammals are scared of us because our teeth are sharp?"

"Yeah," Nick chuckled, "I've known that for a while now. Is…Mallory ever scared of you?"

"No, she doesn't mind!" Brendan said happily. "It's just the bunnies that bully her sometimes who are scared, so I growl at them and then they leave her alone. She says I don't have to stand up for her, but I still do because they mostly just bully her because she's friends with me, and a lot of them don't like foxes."

Nick didn't reply right away. Though he knew his brother would have to grow up at some point, it still saddened him to hear Brendan talk about being hated for his species. At least he didn't seem to have any problems with being himself and still being friends with a bunny, though…

"Well, it looks like your bus is here," Nick said. "I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah," Brendan agreed. "Bye, Nick."

After saying goodbye to his brother, Nick waited a little longer for his own bus to arrive, and spent the whole ride thinking about what had happened yesterday as well as what Brendan had said. Clearly, he didn't seem to have a problem being friends with Mallory and not scaring her, but Nick wondered if that was just because he was repressing himself too. He certainly didn't seem like he was, but then again Nick hadn't realized he was doing it to himself, either.

" _Is it true, what everyone's been saying?"_ he wondered. _"Is it really impossible for predators and prey to be friends? Are we just too different?"_

By the time he arrived at school, Nick felt mentally dazed from trying to figure this out. He thought all of this had ended back when he met Trevor and Vanessa, but yet it was still causing him distress even now. He didn't know what to believe anymore; he trusted his friends, but it just didn't feel right to him to have to be mean to prey in order to be true to himself. He didn't feel like he was a mean spirited mammal, and he didn't understand why he should have to be if he genuinely wanted to be friendly to others. His encounter with June…it hadn't felt like all those other times when he'd been afraid of scaring prey and intentionally tried to hide his fangs and all that. He just saw that she was nervous and wanted to make her comfortable, that was all there was to it.

But now, as he walked down the halls again, passing by several of his prey peers, he couldn't help but wonder if there was some truth to what Trevor and Vanessa were saying. He had never particularly liked the way they treated prey; it had always looked unnecessarily harsh to him, but now he was questioning whether or not that was just his own apprehensions that made him feel that way.

" _Would I actually feel better if I was…like them?"_ he wondered. _"If I could actually act like that without feeling any desire to tone down my 'predator urges?' What would that be like…?"_

Nick didn't want to admit it, but the idea didn't sound entirely bad to him. As long as he was still holding himself back, he would never fully be able to let go of the hesitation he felt. It seemed that being around prey was always going to be difficult for him, no matter what he did.

And just as he was thinking this, he noticed James Hopps and a few of his buddies up ahead, talking loud enough that Nick thought half the school probably heard them.

"I can't believe he keeps telling us where we can and can't sit!" James shouted. "We aren't gonna let those foxes keep pushing us around, are we?"

"Well, no," one of his bunny friends said, "but I don't want them to get mad and eat us!"

"Pfft, like they'd be able to do that!" James scoffed. "Come on, guys; we're _cool_! We're, like, practically _heroes_ or something. They can't tell _us_ what to do!"

The other rabbits looked unsure, but they didn't argue with him. It was clear that James was the ringleader of this group, though whether or not that was a good thing for them was unclear. He was pretty sure James was referring to Trevor and Vanessa, who had on multiple occasions gone out of their way to take whatever table James and his friends sat at in the cafeteria. While Nick found his friends' actions to be somewhat harsh, he had never been particularly fond of James and so didn't bother to question them. The buck was known to be kind of obnoxious to most of the school, even to other prey mammals, so he didn't see much problem in him getting pushed around a bit.

Just as Nick was pondering this, one of the other rabbits turned back and froze as he saw Nick, then poked James to get his attention.

"What are you—?" James started.

He turned around with an annoyed look on his face, which turned to a fearful one when he saw Nick. He clenched his fists, looking like he was trying to be brave. Nick stepped closer to him, curious to see whether or not he would actually try to do anything. James only backed away ever so slightly, his friends hiding behind him.

"What do _you_ want, fox?" James demanded.

" _Don't let him threaten you,"_ Nick told himself, taking a few calming breaths. _"You're a predator;_ he _should be afraid of_ you _, not the other way around."_

"I'm warning you!" James said.

"Oh, really?" Nick chuckled. "Right, I forgot you're ' _heroes_.' I overheard your little plan to get revenge on my friends, if you could even call it that. What exactly do you plan to do, again?"

"I—well, I'm not telling _you_!" James replied. "But you'd better tell your friends to stop messing with us, or we're gonna…well, it's not gonna be good for _you_ , that's for sure!"

" _Right_ ," Nick said sarcastically. "Or, alternatively, you could stay out of our way and quit bothering us."

" _We're_ bothering _you_?!" James exclaimed. " _You're_ the ones that keep—"

"Let me make this perfectly clear," Nick interrupted. "Stay out of our way and we won't eat you. Is that clear enough?"

"Y-you can't threaten us like that!" James protested.

A few of his friends were tugging at his ears, gesturing for them to leave, but he ignored them and kept glaring up at Nick defiantly. Unable to stop himself, Nick bared his fangs and snarled, eliciting a frightened squeak from the once brave bunny. It felt so good to be able to show off his predator attributes unapologetically…

"Why not?" Nick said. "What are you going to do if my friends and I decide to eat you? Do you really think a bunch of little bunnies like you can fight off three foxes?"

"That's not the point!" James replied, now backing away again. "Y-you can't just eat us! I-I mean, we're mammals, just like you, and—"

"Oh, so _now_ we're the same?" Nick snarled. "Don't try to act like you want equality. You've hated me since the day we met! And if you think all foxes are just dangerous predators who want to eat every prey they see…then that's exactly what I'll be."

He growled again, and this time James and the other rabbits finally turned and went running the other direction. He didn't follow them, but he watched them as they disappeared around a corner.

As he continued walking to class, he kept thinking over and over what had just happened. He had loved how it felt to act like a predator, to finally let out his aggression against some of the mammals responsible for repressing him so much to begin with. He certainly didn't intend on actually eating them; that would be disturbing, but he found that he didn't so much mind if they were afraid he might do just that. Back when those other bunnies had muzzled him, he had avoided fighting them partially because he knew that he could do a lot more damage with his sharp claws and teeth, and he really didn't want to hurt anyone. But now that he didn't feel ashamed to be a predator anymore, there was nothing holding him back from fighting his hardest.

" _I will never let them push me down again,"_ he promised.

* * *

Later that day, when Nick met Trevor and Vanessa in the cafeteria, he was feeling more confident about himself than he had in quite a while. Both of them looked cheerful as well, running up to him excitedly when he entered the room.

"Nick!" Trevor said. "We heard what happened this morning!"

"What?" Nick replied. "Wait, you mean with—?"

"James Hopps?" Vanessa supplied. "Exactly! We were surprised when he and his friends didn't try and stand up to us today. Then he said you scared him and his little friends off earlier."

"Well, technically he said you tried to eat him," Trevor clarified.

"I didn't try to eat him!" Nick protested. "I mean, I guess I might have _said_ I'd eat him if he bothered us again, but I didn't actually _try_ to—"

"Chill out, Nick; we know!" Vanessa laughed.

"Yeah, no need to freak out," Trevor agreed. "I just think it's cool you're finally being a real predator. I know those prey friends of yours never made you feel comfortable enough to be your true self…"

"Well…it wasn't really their fault, though…" Nick said. "I just did that because I didn't want to scare any of them…"

"Nick," Vanessa said, patting him on the shoulder, "do you really think those bunnies and sheep would want you to go around showing off your fangs like that? They'd never let you be yourself, and you and I both know it."

"I…I guess…" Nick said.

He wasn't really convinced, but he didn't want to argue with them. Both foxes were clearly much more comfortable with themselves, so he trusted that they likely knew a lot more about this than he did, even if he really didn't understand their view sometimes. He suddenly found himself feeling the slightest hint of regret for what he'd done to James and his friends. Sure, like he said, he hadn't intended to actually hurt them, but he'd definitely terrified them. And while part of him had thoroughly enjoyed playing the 'scary predator' role, he wondered if he had finally taken it too far this time. He had been less bothered by Trevor and Vanessa's actions in recent weeks, but doing them himself was a completely different experience.

" _James is a jerk,"_ Nick reminded himself, trying to make himself feel less guilty about what he'd done. _"Even Judy and her other friends can't stand him. She'd probably_ thank _me for taking him down a few pegs, honestly! I shouldn't be worried about this."_

The words made sense, but he wasn't sure he was entirely convinced. As much as he didn't want to admit it, deep inside he was still afraid that what had happened today might be a step in the wrong direction. Trevor and Vanessa clearly didn't share that view—and maybe they were right—but something told Nick that they might have gotten _too_ comfortable being predators.

Nick stayed silent as they went through the line and headed to their table, which thankfully was an empty one today. He was afraid his friends might want him to join in their 'taking seats from prey who can't fight back' game now that he was getting more comfortable with himself, but thankfully it didn't look like that was going to happen today.

"So," Vanessa said enthusiastically, as they sat down. "Tell us the whole story. I want to hear exactly what you did to scare those bunnies so badly!"

"I…well, um…" Nick started nervously.

"Come on; no need to be modest!" Trevor said. "When we first met you, you were barely able to open your mouth in public, afraid you'd scare someone with your teeth. Now you're scaring bunnies like it's nothing! I wanna hear what happened."

Trevor and Vanessa's enthusiasm somehow just made Nick feel worse about what he'd done, but he wasn't going to tell them that. So, with a sigh, he told them the whole story of what had happened. They both seemed to get a big kick out of hearing about how much he'd scared the rabbits, something that made him wince internally whenever they seemed overly enthusiastic.

"Wow," Trevor remarked. "Cool! Sounds like you really _are_ getting used to the idea of being a predator. I hope I'm around to watch the next time you do something like that."

"Yeah, me too," Vanessa agreed. "Can you imagine how scared all those prey will be now? With the three of us together, they'll be absolutely _terrified_!"

"Y-yeah…" Nick said nervously.

He was conflicted again. Part of him was still feeling guilty about what he'd done and didn't want to do anything like it again soon, but…he also liked the thought of being a team with the other two foxes. The way Vanessa had spoken about the three of them together made Nick feel so…included. He felt like he fit in with these two in a way that he never really had with Judy and the other prey kids.

"What are you still so nervous about?" Trevor chuckled. "You're a _predator_ ; you don't need to be scared of us."

"The preys are the ones who should be afraid," Vanessa added, smirking.

"Right…" Nick agreed. "Yeah, sorry…I guess it's just because this whole thing is kinda new to me. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. Thanks for…you know, letting me be your friend."

"No problem!" Trevor said. "We'll take in any pred who needs us. Hey, Vanessa here used to be just like you when we were little. The preys used to bully her and push her around and everything, you know?"

"And then I met Trevor and he helped me learn to stand up for myself," Vanessa finished.

"You used to be nervous like me?" Nick asked, incredulous.

He could hardly believe that someone as confident and cocky as Vanessa had ever been scared or bullied by anyone. Then again, Nick himself had come a pretty long way from the kit who was muzzled by the Scout bunnies…

"Sure was," Vanessa laughed. "That was years ago, though. I haven't been scared of a prey in a long time now."

"They bully us and push us down because deep inside, they know they could never be a match for us," Trevor said bitterly. "They want to keep us from finding our true potential because they know what we're capable of, and it scares them."

He gave a deep growl for emphasis, causing Nick to flinch slightly before he reminded himself that he wasn't supposed to be afraid of his friend.

"I…I don't think every prey wants to push us down, though," he said.

"They would if they saw just how dangerous we can be," Vanessa laughed.

"Um…I guess so…" Nick agreed.

He was genuinely uncomfortable now, but he really didn't know what to say. He still didn't entirely trust the other two foxes, but no one else had ever made him feel so good about being a predator. No one else had stopped him from feeling ashamed about what he was, and he didn't want to lose that feeling. Not after how long he had waited to find someone who would accept him…

* * *

That night, Nick lay awake in bed for hours, unable to stop thinking about what had happened with James, and how Trevor and Vanessa had reacted to it. The worst part was, he still couldn't decide how he felt about the whole experience. One moment he would be excitedly looking forward to hanging out with the other foxes and getting used to being a predator even more, and others he would curl up in a ball and cry, wishing more than anything that he could just go back to when he and Judy were the best of friends and he never worried that he wasn't a good mammal.

" _I just don't know what the right answer is,"_ he thought frantically. _"And I can't trust anyone else to answer it for me."_

He thought about what Judy might say. He imagined she would probably berate him again for ever being friends with the other foxes and make him feel even worse about himself, regardless of how pure her intentions might be. He would feel like a monster; he would have to start hiding himself again and play it so safe he could be sure he'd never scare anyone…

Then, he thought about what Trevor and Vanessa would say. He was pretty sure they would tell him to forget about all of his doubts, forget about ever trying to be nice to any prey mammal and just embrace being a bully predator like them. They would see any empathy he showed towards a prey as a sign that he was still repressing himself, and they would do everything to stop it.

Nick didn't like either option. He didn't want to stuff all his feelings up inside for the rest of his life, but he didn't want to stop caring about others' feelings either.

But he knew that either way, he was going to have to make a choice eventually. He couldn't keep trying to bridge the gap between two very different worlds; he needed to decide who he was going to be, and preferably soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just...UGH it's maddening to write. WHY DOESN'T SOMEONE WHO'S NOT A JERK HELP NICK DEAL WITH HIS FEELINGS. :(
> 
> The next chapter will probably go back to Judy's POV (?) but idk yet. As bad as the situations have gotten in the last few chapters, I'm really glad that the story I'd planned is finally moving forward. Anyway, thanks so much to all of my readers and reviewers for sticking with me, and I hope to see you again soon.


	17. On Different Paths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Once again, I took way too long to post this, because I had a bit of writer's block with this story and spent most of the last few weeks working on other stories. Thankfully, I got back to this in the last few days and I'm really pleased with how it turned out!
> 
> Also, IT'S DECEMBER! 2020 IS ALMOST OVER!
> 
> I'm so glad everyone liked the Nick POV in the last chapter, but it's back to Judy's POV for this chapter! And Zephyr's "favorite" character: Samantha! XD
> 
> Ok, I'm shutting up now.

The more the semester went on, the more frustrated Judy became. At first, she was willing to give Nick the benefit of the doubt and assume he just didn't know how to talk to her after their fight, but as the months went on it became clear to her that the fox might really be changing for good. At the beginning, she had only seen him join in Trevor and Vanessa's behavior peripherally, never seeming to care much about it himself, but before long she started hearing that Nick was treating his prey peers no better than the other two foxes.

It started when James came complaining to her about how Nick had 'attacked' and 'threatened' him in the halls, and Judy was all set to throw that out the window as more of James's nonsense, but unfortunately it didn't stop there. Before long, Samantha started reporting more incidents of Nick's behavior to Judy, apparently having decided it was her solemn duty to follow the foxes around the school and keep tabs on everything they did.

"—and then Nick tripped this other bunny with his tail which I _know_ for a _fact_ was intentional," Samantha recounted one November day as she walked next to Judy through the halls. "And after she fell on the floor and dropped all her stuff, he bends down all smug and tells her she needs to watch where she's going if she wants to, you know, not get devoured by predators."

Judy was already banging her head with her fists when they reached the lockers; she didn't doubt that what Samantha said was true, and she definitely didn't approve of Nick's behavior, but she was so very tired of hearing the other bunny going on about it. Her opinion of Samantha still wasn't very high, as she had never really apologized for the way she'd acted earlier, nor had her opinion on predators changed much—if at all—from before. But, ever since Nick started acting as 'predatory' as his friends, she had taken it upon herself to constantly bombard Judy with news of all of his exploits.

"Oh, and of course now you're rolling your eyes at me," Samantha said bitterly. "But you know everything I said is true. You know Nick Wilde is a jerk who thinks every prey exists solely for him to torture for his own amusement, and until you open your eyes to the truth you're never going to stop being blinded by your own—"

"Samantha!" Judy exploded, unable to take it any longer. "I'm not denying any of what you said, and I'm not friends with Nick anymore, so why do you keep wasting my time with all this?!"

Samantha scoffed, looking offended.

" _Not surprising, since literally everything in existence offends her these days…"_ Judy thought.

"I'm just trying to let you know so you don't go running back to him!" Samantha said, her voice becoming slightly whinier. "I know you have a history with that fox and as your friend, I'm trying to make sure you stay away from dangerous predators who only want to—"

"Look, Sam," Judy interrupted, her patience gone, "we can argue about this all day, but the truth is I don't care what you think about predators. You're convinced all of them are bad and they all secretly want to go back to the Stone Age and eat us, and I think that's completely insane. I don't approve of any of what Nick and his friends do, and I don't need you to convince me of what I already know to be true. So please, for the love of carrots, stop wasting my time!"

With that, Judy stormed off and slammed the locker door behind her, not bothering to look back and see how Samantha would react. She was worried she might have been too harsh, but lately her patience was growing thinner and thinner with every passing day. She was mad at Nick for leaving her for two jerks, she was mad at Trevor and Vanessa for terrorizing the school and involving Nick in their antics, she was mad at Samantha for blaming it all on 'predators' as a whole, and most of all she was mad at herself for letting all of this happen.

" _If I had just seen how much you were hurting, Nick…"_ she thought. _"Maybe then I wouldn't have lost you. Maybe I would have been able to help you, and we might still be friends…"_

" _No!"_ she told herself indignantly. _"You are_ not _going to start crying right here in the middle of junior high! You have a whole day of school to get through; you can cry when you get home!"_

Thinking that only made her want to cry more, as she remembered it was Nick who had first taught her not to 'let them see' when she was upset. But she remained strong and powered through, reminding herself that she still had a few friends, and she was still working towards her goal of one day being a police officer. This wasn't the end of everything, but she couldn't let herself give up. She was Judy Hopps, and she _never_ gave up.

Just as Judy was about to reach her class, she saw Nick around the corner talking to some other bunnies, and she instinctively jumped back to hide behind the corner. Her eyes and ears focused, she carefully observed what was happening, her heart pounding as she was both desperate to see what Nick would do, and terrified of witnessing what she didn't want to accept.

"—and I _know_ you took it, so give it back right now!" one of the bunnies was saying.

Nick laughed smugly, a response that fit the stories Samantha had been telling Judy, but one that startled her to hear nonetheless.

"Maybe I _did_ take it," Nick said. "What are you going to do about it if I _did_ , bunnies? You don't wanna mess with a predator."

Judy could hardly believe her own ears, but she couldn't deny what she was hearing either. She didn't want to think that Nick had really changed this much, but here he was, taunting helpless prey mammals just like Gideon had back when they first met. Judy wanted to cry, but once again she held back her tears. She definitely didn't want _Nick_ to know how upset she was.

"Y-you wouldn't eat us, r-right?" one of the rabbits asked, backing away from Nick slowly.

Nick shrugged.

"Dunno," he said. "If you stick around, maybe you'll find out."

He emphasized this point with a low snarl, which sent all of the bunnies running off in different directions. Judy immediately got to her feet and started heading back the way she'd come in order to avoid raising suspicion, waiting until the sounds of Nick's laughter stopped before turning back to head towards her next class.

Nick was not there anymore; he had presumably gone on to his next class, but Judy was just glad that she didn't have to see him. As she continued down the hall, she tried to stop herself from thinking about what she had seen, but the images would not leave her mind. No matter how much she might try to deny it, it was clear that Nick was no longer the kind, empathetic fox she had met years ago, and that was what hurt the most. She detested Trevor and Vanessa equally, but at least she didn't have a history with them. With Nick, not only had the school gained another bully, but Judy had lost a friend.

* * *

On the first weekend of December, Bunnyburrow was hit by a torrent of snow, and all of Judy's younger siblings were eager to go outside and play. Of course, it took quite a while because Bonnie had to make sure all of them put their coats on, but while she was getting the littler kits ready, Judy was outside walking across the snow-covered farm with Peter. She hadn't seen much of him lately, and with her emotions in the state they were, she was relieved at the opportunity to spend time with him.

"So…Chloe tells me you've been having a hard time at school this year," Peter said, once they were out of earshot of the house. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I…it's…about Nick," Judy explained.

"Ah, I thought it might have something to do with him," Peter said. "Have you talked to him at all since getting back to school?"

"No," Judy admitted. "But I've seen him and his new friends around, and Sam has told me stuff about them, and…he's completely changed, Peter! He's such a jerk now, always going around and treating prey like we're lesser and trying to scare them all the time…"

"Really?" Peter said, sounding surprised. "But isn't he the one who stood up for you back when—"

"Yes!" Judy cried, clenching her eyes shut to hold back the tears. "But just a few weeks ago I saw him taunting this group of bunnies in the hall; apparently he took something from them and then acted like he was going to eat them if they didn't go away. And Sam said that he—"

"Isn't this Sam the bunny you were mad at before?" Peter asked. "I'm sorry; I'm really confused."

"Well, I'm still mad at Samantha," Judy clarified, "but that doesn't mean what she said wasn't true. From what I saw Nick doing, it wouldn't surprise me at all. I just…I don't know if there's any way I can fix this now. I think I lost my chance when I didn't see why he was hurting so much and now…I…"

This time, she didn't hold back. She stopped walking and sat down on the snowy ground, crying into her paws. She didn't even care that Peter would see; everything felt hopeless anyway now that Nick wasn't her best friend anymore. As she cried, she felt Peter's arm around her and realized he was sitting down next to her, trying to comfort her. She leaned over onto his shoulder, feeling as if it was almost too much effort to hold her own head up. She just wanted to wake up from all of this, to go back to before Nick ever met Trevor and Vanessa and help him become comfortable with himself so that he would never feel the need to leave.

But it was too late now, and Judy knew that. She wished there was some way to tell her past self how to fix this, as it all felt so obvious and simple now, but she had lost her chance. Maybe there was some way to bring Nick back from this, but the damage had been done and that scar would always be there.

"I'm really sorry, Judy," Peter said, after several minutes had passed. "He always seemed like such a nice kit to me; I don't know what happened. Do you think there's any way you could talk him out of this? I don't really understand how this all started, but maybe if you could find out what it is that's making him act like this…"

"But I don't understand it!" Judy cried. "It's like, because he's a predator he apparently decided he enjoys scaring prey mammals and taunting them, because that's what he thinks it is to be himself! But I don't have any idea why he would think that! Maybe it's just a predator thing and I'll never understand why…"

"I can't say that makes sense to me either," Peter admitted, "but if he was really such a close friend, I think you should at least try to talk to him again and see what happens. As for the predator stuff, you should probably ask Chloe about that. I'm sure she'll know."

Judy chuckled, wiping away her tears.

"Thanks, Peter," she said. "I think…I think I will talk to him again before the semester's over."

"I'm glad to hear that," Peter replied. "I hope it goes well. I know it's easy for friendships to fall apart when you don't understand each other. Maybe if you talk it out with him, it will make more sense and you'll both be able to work through it."

Judy nodded, though she didn't feel very confident that talking would actually work. As much as she wanted to hope for the best and be the optimist she had always been, she had a bad feeling that this was going to be the official end of her friendship with Nick. If he refused to understand why his actions were harmful and was unwilling to change for the better, then Judy knew there was nothing more she could do about it.

Deep in her heart, Judy was afraid that she would have to let Nick go. And the thought was almost too much for the young doe to bear.

"Hey, maybe we should go back to the house and get you warmed up," Peter suggested. "Maybe you just need some time to yourself, while our younger siblings are all playing out in the yard."

He stood up and held out his paw, which Judy took as she got to her feet. She nodded, and he started back towards the house. They walked at a slow pace across the wintry landscape, which under different circumstances would have all looked quite pretty. But now, everything just seemed cold, bleak, and lifeless. It was as if all the warmth and happiness had gone from the world, and there was nothing that could make it better.

Judy was grateful for her brother, though. She had always looked up to him, and though they hadn't spent as much time together over the last few years, he was still always there for her when she needed him. That was more than she could say for certain _friends_ …

Just then, as Judy was starting to feel a little better, she and Peter passed by a familiar area close to the edge of the farm, one that looked exactly the same as she remembered it.

" _Judy…"_ Nick's voice rang out inside Judy's head, so much younger and more innocent sounding than it was now, _"can you promise me you won't tell anyone else about this? I…don't know how your parents would feel if they knew I almost bit you."_

" _No, we don't have to tell anyone,"_ Judy replied, her own tone just as young and naïve as the fox kit's. _"But…it does kind of feel like we've done something important, doesn't it?"_

" _I guess you're right,"_ Nick agreed. _"We did what our ancestors couldn't do."_

"Judy, what's wrong?" Peter asked, waving his paws in front of her face. "You're just…staring. Did you see something?"

Judy shut her eyes again and sniffed, wiping away the tears as soon as they started to form. She had already cried out here today, and she didn't want to fall apart like an overly emotional bunny again. But seeing this place—the place where she and Nick had performed the Trust Ritual two years ago—she couldn't hold back the emotions. The memories rushed back to her so vividly that they hurt, thinking about how they felt about each other back then and how there was no sign that their friendship would ever end. She had trusted him so much then that she had allowed his fangs to almost touch her throat, but now?

" _There's no way I would ever trust that fox to do that now,"_ she thought. _"I don't know that I would trust him with anything anymore…"_

"It's…nothing," Judy said.

She took a deep breath and wiped the last of the tears away, and then turned to continue back towards the burrow. Peter still looked worried, but he followed beside her anyway. As much as Judy wanted to tell him why she was upset, just to have someone to talk to about it, she wasn't sure how he would react to knowing Nick had almost bitten her, especially now knowing how much of a jerk he had become.

Before too long, they arrived back at the burrow and passed by the huge group of bunnies playing outside in the snow. Back inside, it was pretty quiet since most of Judy's siblings were out, which was fine by her. She needed some time to herself anyway.

"Are you sure you're gonna be ok?" Peter asked as they came back inside.

"I…I think so," Judy replied.

"Well, if you need anything else, you can come talk to me anytime," Peter said. "And you can also talk to Chloe; I'm sure she'd love to help you out too."

"Chloe…" Judy said, more to herself than to Peter. "You're right! I should go tell Chloe!"

With that, she ran off down the hall to the bedrooms, leaving Peter standing there with a confused look on his face.

* * *

"—and then all of the bunnies went running in every direction, and he was just standing there and laughing," Judy explained.

"Wow, you're right; he _is_ kind of a jerk now, isn't he?" Chloe agreed.

They were sitting on Chloe's bed, and Judy had just finished telling her older sister everything about how Nick had changed since the semester began.

"So…what do you think I should do?" Judy asked. "I mean, you always seem to know a lot more about predators than I do."

Chloe laughed.

"Yeah, that's true, but I'm not really sure you can do much about this," she said. "I mean, you can talk to him and try to figure out why he's acting the way he is, but until you do that there's probably no way to get him to act any different. Has he, like, gotten in fights with anyone, or does he just growl at them?"

"He growls at them and says threatening stuff," Judy explained. "Like, implying he might eat them if they don't do what he says."

"Huh…" Chloe said thoughtfully. "Well, unfortunately I don't really know any preds personally, so I don't know why exactly he'd do that, but my guess is he's probably still trying to be 'predatory' and he's likely been trying to hold it down for so long that it's just all bubbling over the surface now. I really think you should talk to him, because it sounds like the only way he's going to change is if he realizes he doesn't have to be hostile to everyone in order to be true to himself."

"I…guess?" Judy replied. "I just still don't understand why predators think they need to be intimidating. Why can't they just be nice to everyone?"

"Nah, that wouldn't be as much fun," Chloe said jokingly. "Seriously, though, since the preds don't eat us anymore, they need some kind of an outlet to be able to act like predators or else they probably just feel really constrained. And it's not like _this_ town is designed particularly well for predators… Hey, maybe that's why all the foxes you've met eventually turn into jerks!"

"Well…maybe," Judy said. "But I still don't know how me talking to Nick is going to change anything, if he really feels like he has to do this to be himself."

Chloe shrugged.

"Who knows?" she said. "But you'll never know if you don't try it, and that's something you've never had an issue with doing in the past. If he doesn't change, at least you'll know you've tried your best, and then you don't need to worry about it anymore."

"I guess you're right," Judy sighed.

"Of course I am!" Chloe laughed. "Alright, so did that help you feel better?"

"I…I think so," Judy answered. "At least a little bit. I'm really glad you're here, Chloe."

"Aw, thanks, Judy," Chloe replied, pulling her younger sister into a hug. "You and Mallory are my favorite sisters. Please don't ever change or I'll have to disown you."

"You're so weird, Chloe," Judy giggled.

"Good to know I haven't changed," Chloe said.

* * *

For the next few weeks, Judy kept planning to talk to Nick every day at school, but she continuously avoided doing so and told herself she'd do it later. She didn't see much of him anyway, and even Samantha's constant updates on his and his friends' exploits had ceased since the last argument they'd had. It almost felt like their friendship had just faded, and there was no reason to talk to Nick or try to reason with him anymore. After all, he never came to talk to her anymore, and she didn't want to risk going near his friends again in any case.

But despite all of this reasoning, she still couldn't bring herself to admit defeat and give up on him just yet. She made a promise to herself that she would talk to Nick again before the end of the semester, and she intended to keep that promise. Yet, as the days continued to fly by, she worried that she was running out of time. She would have to talk to him soon if she wanted to keep her promise.

Finally, on the very last day of the fall semester, Judy decided she wasn't going to wait any longer. One way or another, she was going to put this to rest, and in order to do that she would have to face her fears and approach Nick.

Thankfully, in the weeks leading up to this day, she had asked around and figured out where some of Nick's classes were. She didn't want to talk to him during lunch, because she knew she'd have to deal with Trevor and Vanessa that way, but now she had a plan to catch Nick on his way out of class, before the rest of his gang met up with him.

Immediately upon hearing the bell ring in math class, Judy jumped up from her seat and ran out into the hall, stuffing her books in her backpack before running as fast as she could down the halls. The class Nick was supposed to be just leaving was halfway across the building, so she wasn't wasting any time. She ran past several other students, weaving through the crowd and doing her best to avoid bumping into anyone.

Judy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Nick at the end of the next hall, and then started to panic as she realized what she was about to do.

" _This is crazy!"_ she thought. _"He's a_ jerk _now! I can't just go up and talk to him like we're still best friends or something; he'll probably threaten to_ eat _me! I'm sure he wouldn't_ actually _eat me, but that doesn't mean he won't try to scare me, and since he knows me pretty well I'm sure it'll be—"_

"Hey," Nick said, very close to Judy's ear.

"Aah!" Judy exclaimed, jumping away in fright.

"Yikes, no need to scream," Nick said. "What are you doing over here anyway? I never see you in this hall, so I'm guessing you came here to talk to me, correct?"

"I…um…well—" Judy started.

"Look, Judy, I have a few minutes before I need to get to class," Nick replied. "If you have something to say, tell me."

"What's with you pretending to be nice all of a sudden, huh?" Judy challenged. "How come you're still being friendly to _me_ , but you're a jerk to everyone else? Are you _trying_ to hide? Do you really think I somehow wouldn't find out what you're doing? How dumb do you think I—"

"Whoa, slow down," Nick said, holding up his paws. "No, I didn't expect that you wouldn't find out. I assume you're referring to me using my predator attributes to intimidate prey animals?"

"N—well, actually, _yes_ ," Judy answered, surprised at how casually he had confessed to it. "I don't know why you're acting like it's no big deal or something; do you even _know_ how that feels to a prey mammal like me? Is this some kind of a joke to you?"

"But I wasn't doing it to you!" Nick replied defensively. "In case you didn't notice, I haven't involved you in any of this, and I told Trevor and Vanessa to leave you alone too. If they've been bothering you without me knowing, then I'll tell them to—"

"This isn't about me!" Judy exploded. "I honestly couldn't care less if you want to follow me around school and scare me all the time; I can deal with that! But you're just going around and acting like you own the place, forcing everyone out of your way because they're terrified that you'll _eat_ them if they don't! And that doesn't bother you at all?! What's _happened_ to you?!"

Nick sighed, his casual attitude only serving to intensify Judy's internal rage.

"For your information, all the preys I've done that too have made some kind of rude comments about predators," he said. "I don't know about Trevor and Vanessa; I try to stay out of what they do. But I don't go around harassing mammals who don't deserve it. I'm just not going to stay silent when I hear half of the students here complaining about me for my species. If they think all predators are cruel savages who just want to eat everyone, then that's what they'll get. Well, I mean, obviously I'm not going to _actually eat_ anyone, but I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to figure that one out on your own."

Judy was caught off guard by his response, as well as by how calm he'd remained during this entire confrontation. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and tried to work out a good reply. She had no way of knowing for sure whether or not what he said was true, since she didn't know most of the mammals he had supposedly scared, and in any case he was probably more likely to hear and remember derogatory comments made about foxes or predators in general than she was. But Nick's actions still seemed harsh, even if they were directed towards mammals that Judy would also like to give a piece of her mind to.

"I don't know what they said to you or about you," Judy said. "But from what I saw, it looked like you were just scaring them for fun, not trying to tell them off for being mean to you. So excuse me if I don't quite understand."

"What's the difference?" Nick replied. "If I'm going to pay someone back for being annoying anyway, why does it matter to you if I enjoy it? That doesn't change the outcome, does it?"

"But…I just…I don't understand how you can enjoy scaring them like that," Judy explained. "I…I mean, you see how they look when they're terrified of what you might do to them, and that doesn't bother you at all?"

"Well, I never said it didn't bother me; I just said that I enjoyed it," Nick answered. "Look, I don't think a prey mammal is going to understand anyway. I know you always tried to treat me well and you never hated me for my species, but you don't seem to think that predator attributes can be celebrated and embraced like prey ones can. Maybe that's because you were taught to think that fangs and sharp claws are always a bad thing, something to fear, but I'm tired of hating myself. I'm sorry if that's offensive to you."

With that, he turned and walked away, lightly brushing Judy with his tail as he did so. She wanted to object, to run after him and beg him not to leave, but she didn't know what she would say. The conversation had left her feeling even more confused than she was before, and suddenly the prospect of being friends with Nick again really was starting to look impossible.

The rest of the day, Judy was barely able to pay attention enough to get through class. She stayed mostly quiet at lunch and didn't say much to the others, and though Sharla seemed to notice something was up, none of them asked her. That was fine by her, as she didn't feel like talking about what happened. Honestly, she still had trouble believing it really _did_ happen. She kept replaying the conversation in her head, as if hoping to find something that would tell her how to solve all of this, but she was unsuccessful. It seemed that Nick was determined to continue acting predatory, and there was nothing she could do to change that.

At the very least, the one thing that gave her the tiniest bit of hope was seeing how he had still treated her the same as always, never once using his predator traits to intimidate her in any way, even when he was frustrated and argued with her. It might not change much, but at least it showed Judy that she still meant something to Nick, even if he had grown to be a completely different mammal from her.

Finally, at the end of the day, Judy was heading outside when she heard a loud noise from behind her. Looking back, she saw her friend Sharla had fallen over in the middle of the hall and dropped some books. Judy rushed over to help her, kneeling down to retrieve some of the books.

"Oh, Judy!" Sharla said, suddenly noticing her friend. "Thanks for helping. I couldn't fit everything in my backpack, and I want to study up on some of this before spring."

"It's no problem," Judy replied. "Here, I'll help you carry some of them out to the bus."

"Really?" Sharla said. "Thanks!"

The line had already mostly gone outside, so Judy and Sharla were some of the last students to leave the building. They both walked together towards the bus, silent for a few seconds until Sharla looked over at Judy.

"Hey, did you ever talk to…you know who?" she asked nervously.

Judy sighed heavily.

"Yes," she answered. "I'll tell you all about it on the bus."

Sharla's expression changed from curiosity to one of genuine concern as they approached and boarded the bus. As Judy looked back at the junior high school one last time, she was disheartened at how much time had passed since she and Nick were friends. She had held out hopes that this would be the year when she and Nick would make up and be friends again, but here she was—a whole semester later—and she was no closer to that goal than she was at the beginning of summer.

Judy wasn't ready to give up just yet, but she was out of ideas. There was nothing left to do now except wait for spring to see what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GET ALONG?!
> 
> Oh well, despite how badly things are going, I've really enjoyed writing these last several chapters. The vague idea I had in my mind for this story is finally starting to take shape and I'm looking forward to seeing what future chapters look like.
> 
> Alright, that's all for now!


	18. Last Straw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At long last, it's here! Sorry again for the lengthy wait, I tend to procrastinate a lot on these chapters but once I actually start writing them they seem to go pretty quickly. I've been having more weird days, but overall I guess I'd say I'm doing pretty well. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since I first started this story...but enough about that. Let's get to the chapter and find out what happens next!

When school started back in January, Nick didn't feel any better than he did after his last conversation with Judy. In fact, things only seemed to be getting worse as time went on. At first, he tried to ignore the feelings, thinking they were only temporary and would eventually go away once he started to accept himself and get used to the mammal he was now. Trevor and Vanessa in particular continued to assure him this would happen, which only furthered his assumption that it was nothing to worry about.

But the more time went on, the more he started to realize that he didn't feel completely content with his life. As he looked back on the last few years, it honestly looked to him like the time he had spent hiding himself was overall better than his life was now.

"Are you _kidding_?!" Trevor laughed boisterously, upon hearing Nick's concerns. "But you're getting to act like a predator now, not pretending to be something you're not! Why would you want to go back to covering up your fangs and hiding from everyone?"

"I…I don't know," Nick admitted, starting to feel embarrassed after what his friend said. "I just don't feel right anymore; I don't know…"

"I think I know what's going on here," Vanessa said. "You're still ashamed of who you are, and you keep letting those whiny little prey animals get to you. Have you been talking to that bunny again?"

Both Trevor and Vanessa looked at Nick accusingly, and he sunk lower into his seat. He knew they were trying to help him, but he always felt like they criticized everything he did a little harshly.

" _I guess I probably need to hear it…"_ Nick thought. _"They know better than me how to embrace themselves, how to not let the fear of prey animals change how they express themselves."_

"W-well…" he started nervously. "I _did_ talk to Judy at the end of last semester… B-but she came to find me! And I told her I wasn't trying to be mean to anyone, and that all of the prey mammals I scared were already badmouthing predators…"

"So…from what I hear, you still act like a prey when you talk to her," Vanessa said. "I thought you said she didn't affect how you present yourself anymore…? But if you're going out of your way to make her comfortable…"

"I wasn't doing that!" Nick replied defensively. "I was just…well, I was trying to be nice and explain it to her because she's my friend! Or, at least…she _used_ to be my friend…"

Trevor gave him a pat on the shoulder, looking mildly sympathetic…or at least as sympathetic as he _could_ look.

"Hey, don't worry about her now," he said. "If she can't accept a predator as a friend without trying to change you, then you don't need her."

"He's right," Vanessa agreed. "Stop worrying about that bunny; you have _us_ now! I'm sure once you get away from her, you'll get used to really being yourself, just like we did."

"I…I guess so…" Nick said, though he wasn't convinced.

That particular conversation had happened in the middle of January, and as the weeks went on, Nick's mood grew steadily worse and worse. He kept thinking over what the other foxes had said, telling himself it must be true. Trevor and Vanessa had always been much more confident than he had, so if they were telling him something, he should listen…right?

But it didn't feel right. As glad as he was for the other foxes helping him feel less ashamed of who—and _what_ —he was, he didn't feel the same with them as he had with Judy. Back when they were friends, it seemed like they would do anything for each other, like there were no secrets between them and they could trust each other with anything.

" _Not true,"_ Nick thought bitterly. _"She was all fine with me being a predator until it meant I actually_ like _having sharp fangs and claws, and then the trust was all gone."_

Still, he didn't want to give up on Judy, no matter how much his new friends told him it was the right decision. He still felt like if they just talked it out, they could eventually be friends again. Maybe she would come to understand why he wanted to be the way he was now? Then again, some days even _he_ wasn't sure why he wanted to be the way he was now…

After weeks of his frustration building up, it finally bubbled over the surface. It started as just another normal day at school, and Nick was making his way through the hall to his next class, when he overheard a few rabbits talking about him nearby.

"…watch out for _him_ ," one of them whispered, though it was obvious who she was talking about. "He likes to scare prey at any chance he gets; you want to stay clear of him."

"I heard from Samantha that he'll _eat_ you if you get in his way," another girl bunny giggled.

"Yeah, right," the third rabbit in the group said, this one a male. "I'd like to see him try and eat _me_!"

"Oh, really?" Nick snarled, whirling around to face them before he could stop himself.

" _Oh no, I need to just learn to ignore them…"_ he thought.

One of the girl bunnies giggled nervously, the other one hiding behind her. The buck in the group—who Nick guessed was probably trying to impress the does by standing up to him—stepped forward and crossed his arms.

"Yeah!" he said. "You don't wanna mess with me, fox!"

Nick chuckled and stepped forward slowly, expecting the buck to back away. To his surprise, the rabbit actually held his ground pretty well, though he could still smell fear all over him. Surely it wouldn't take much to scare him off, and then Nick could get back to class without any trouble.

"You're awfully brave, standing up to me like this," Nick said, his voice cool and confident though he didn't much feel that way on the inside. "Didn't your friend tell you what happens to bunnies who get in my way?"

"You wouldn't dare try to eat me!" the buck challenged. "I know that's just a made-up rumor! You don't scare me!"

" _Yikes, he's really pushing this farther than I expected,"_ Nick thought. _"I can't just back off, but obviously I can't really_ eat _him…"_

"If I don't scare you, then why are you shouting like that?" he asked. "Sounds like you're nervous to me."

"Th-that's not true!" the rabbit said defensively. "I'm not nervous, and I know you can't actually do anything to me, so just run along!"

Both of the other bunnies looked to be backing away, though after a glare from their persistent friend, they froze in place. Clearly he was trying to prove that he could stand his ground, that Nick would eventually have to give up on scaring him and move on to something else.

But Nick refused to let that happen. Maybe last year, he would have just admitted defeat and walked away, but ever since becoming friends with Trevor and Vanessa, he had tried hard to embrace his predator side and had built his image around it. If he just walked away, let this rabbit—this _prey_ —mock him like this, then what kind of a predator was he?

Nick continued approaching the rabbit, this time letting out a low growl as he bared his fangs. Now he started to see some hesitation in the buck's eyes, though he still didn't back up or run away. He just kept staring the predator right in the eyes, despite his trembling.

"Get away from me!" the rabbit said. "I told you, I'm not afraid of you! I'm not your prey! So just get out of here and go bother someone else!"

At those last words, as Nick was closing the distance between them, the rabbit reached forward as if to push him away…and Nick reacted without thinking. He leaned down and bit the buck's arm, eliciting a pained shout from the smaller mammal. Just as Nick opened his jaws to let go, the rabbit yanked his arm back and scraped it across the tip of Nick's fangs. He let out another cry of pain as he jumped back, stumbling over onto the floor.

" _Oh no…"_ Nick thought, a feeling of sheer dread tightening his chest.

Immediately, the two other bunnies rushed over to check on their friend, while Nick started retreating slowly backwards. His mind was racing, his heart pounding as he tried to calm his breathing. Suddenly the allure of being a predator was gone, replaced by an overwhelming sense of shame and despair in what he was.

"How could you do this?!" the buck screamed, his cries sending chills through Nick's entire body.

"I-I don't know…" Nick said, shaking. "I…I just…"

"Come on, let's get you out of here!" the louder of the two does said.

Together, the does helped their friend back to his feet, and the three went running off down the hallway without another word.

Still trying to process what had just happened, Nick turned and ran back down the hall in the opposite direction, not stopping until he reached the bathroom. Heart still pounding, he stood in front of the mirror and opened his mouth. His heart rate increased again when he saw the blood on his fangs, the blood he knew came from the frightened prey he'd just bitten. Thankfully, it wasn't much, but the sight was still jarring to him. Even in all of the months he'd spent scaring prey animals with his predatory attitude, he had never actually _attacked_ anyone. For the first time in his life, the fact that he was a predator was genuinely terrifying to him.

" _How could I have found it…exciting?"_ he wondered. _"I…I'm dangerous…how could that ever be a good thing? What's wrong with me…?"_

Realizing he'd need to get to class soon if he wanted to avoid suspicion, Nick grabbed some paper towels and wet them in the sink, leaning close to the mirror so he could see to wipe off all the blood. He was almost positive he was going to get in trouble for this, but at least he could try to erase as much convicting evidence as possible.

In reality, he just wanted to forget any of it happened at all. He didn't want to admit the fact that trying to embrace himself as a predator had led to him hurting someone else so badly, someone who wasn't strong enough to fight back. He didn't want to admit it to anyone—even to himself—that he was actually capable of doing something like this.

As soon as his teeth looked clean, he tossed the paper towels into the trash, making sure none of the blood was visible. Hopefully someone else would come along and leave their trash on top of his, so no one would find the evidence. He was pretty sure that flushing paper towels down the toilet wasn't a good idea, and he didn't want to take any chances on doing something that could get him found out.

" _Of course, I'm sure the buck is going to tell on me, so there's really no way out…"_ he thought.

Without wasting another moment, Nick ran back out into the hall and hurried off towards his class. He arrived just before the bell rang, and managed to slow down and calm himself as he entered the room, so that he wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. Thankfully, none of the bunnies involved in the incident were in the same classroom, so as far as he knew no one here had heard about what happened.

Nick sighed heavily as the teacher started talking. He had dodged the bullet for now, but he was sure this wasn't the last he was going to hear about what he'd done. He would have to brace himself for whatever was coming.

* * *

"So…" an old moose said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm guessing you know why you're in here, Nick Wilde?"

"Not really," Nick lied, his tone as calm and confident as he could manage.

" _What am I doing?!"_ he screamed internally. _"How am I gonna pretend I had nothing to do with it?! And directly to the principal himself?! I should just give this up now; I'm doomed anyway…"_

Despite this, though, Nick kept up his confident persona and kept eye contact with the moose principal, hoping he could somehow get himself out of trouble. As long as the only evidence of what Nick had done was what the bunnies had reported…

"Don't play games with me, Wilde," the moose said, his tone firmer now. "I've been told by three different students that you attacked and bit one of them in the halls yesterday. Your teacher confirmed you were late to class that day, too. What do you say to that?"

"I don't know what they're talking about," Nick replied. "I haven't bitten anyone. They're just making stuff up to get me in trouble because they don't like me."

" _You couldn't come up with anything more original than that?!"_

The principal's eyes narrowed again, looking unconvinced. Still, Nick wasn't going to confess to anything just yet. As far as he knew, his parents hadn't heard about this yet, and Judy likely didn't know either…if he could just keep it like that…

"Then why is it one of the students has a bite mark on his arm?" the principal shot back.

Nick's mind worked frantically, trying to think of a good excuse. He couldn't say the rabbit bit his own arm; rabbit teeth and fox teeth were very different and that would be obvious in a bite mark. Maybe he should just give it up now…

"W-well…I don't know how to tell you…" Nick said, his voice now sounding small and nervous.

"Just say it," the principal replied. "I don't have forever."

"O-ok…" Nick started. "Well…it happened yesterday, when I was trying to go to class… A-and these three bunnies came up to me and th-they pushed me down and wouldn't let me get up. And I tried to reason with them, b-but they just said they didn't want to fox in their school… And then after a while one of them told me to b-bite his arm…and he said they would beat me up if I didn't… I really didn't want to and I tried to get up and run away, but they wouldn't let me move, s-so I—"

"Alright, that's enough," the principal interrupted. "You've made your point. And you're _sure_ this is what happened?"

"Y-yes, sir," Nick answered.

"Very well," the principal sighed. "I will have to talk again with the other students and see what they have to say. I'm…sorry for wasting your time. It's clear this is hard for you to talk about, so I won't bother you with it anymore. You…seem like a good kit."

Those words went through him like cold icicles to his heart, knowing he was every bit as guilty as the principal had first assumed. Apparently his acting skills were better than he had thought, and he was glad to be out of trouble, but what happened…didn't sit right with him. He didn't know if this was going to get the other bunnies in trouble, and as much as they had irritated him at first he really didn't want that to happen.

But there was nothing he could do about it now. Standing up slowly, he quietly made his way out of the principal's office without another word. He figured he probably looked like he was still shaken from talking about the incident, when in reality he just felt ashamed. He was ashamed that he had bitten the rabbit in the first place, ashamed that he had spun the story on them to get himself out of trouble, and ashamed that even after all of it he still wasn't going to confess anything. All he wanted was to put this behind him, pretend it never happened at all, and move on.

As he made his way to class, he thought about how much things had changed since he moved to Bunnyburrow. Something like this would never have happened back then, when he first became friends with Judy Hopps and was still as good a kit as the principal thought he was now… If only he could go back to those days, he would hold on to his friendship with Judy and wouldn't mess it up again. He would try to find a way to be comfortable with himself without being unnecessarily mean to others. He would…

" _Oh,"_ he thought, a realization hitting him. _"So_ that's _what I have to do. Ugh…why does the universe have to be so cruel…?"_

With his new path in mind, he continued on his way to class and took his seat in silence. His confident persona was gone now; he felt like he had just been hit by a bus. He knew the way forward, but he didn't know if he could muster up the courage to do what he had to. And he didn't know what would happen to him if he did, because there was no way to go back in time and change everything that had happened…

But he would be free. That much he knew for sure. And maybe that was as much as he could hope for right now.

* * *

When lunch time arrived, Nick met up with Trevor and Vanessa and took his usual seat with them. Both of them were smiling and seemed to be in as good a mood as they always were. Nick sighed; this wasn't going to be easy, but he knew he had to do it.

"I heard what happened!" Trevor exclaimed. "Is it true that you… _bit_ that rabbit? For real?"

"Well, I'm not going to hide it from you guys, so yeah, I did," Nick confessed. "It all happened so fast, though! I didn't mean to do that to him, but I reacted without thinking and—"

"No need to explain yourself!" Vanessa laughed. "I'm impressed. You finally used your fangs for what they're made to do! You weren't afraid to use them to defend yourself and fight back."

"But you don't understand!" Nick insisted. "I didn't _need_ to defend myself because _I_ was the one who started it!"

"Well, duh, that's how we predators are _supposed_ to be," Trevor said. "I mean, it's not like we were born with fangs so we could _defend_ ourselves."

Both he and Vanessa laughed at this, and Nick shifted uncomfortably. This conversation was starting to take a weird turn that he wasn't sure he wanted to follow any further. But because he was curious, he couldn't help himself.

"Are you talking about the ancient times when predators hunted prey for food?" he asked bluntly. "Because…I mean, well…we don't really do that anymore…"

" _Where is this even going?"_ he wondered. _"These two are really pushing the whole 'predator' thing pretty far…"_

"Well, sure, maybe we can't _eat_ anyone these days," Trevor said.

"But we can still use our fangs and claws to get what we want, just like our ancestors would have," Vanessa finished.

"Um… _ok_ …?" Nick replied. "But I just don't know if that's the best way to look at it, because our ancestors killed other mammals for food… They really weren't the best."

Trevor and Vanessa frowned, glancing at each other. Nick wasn't sure what about what he'd said was confusing to them, but he sighed as he braced himself for another lecture. These two foxes always seemed to have an answer for what a 'real' predator was supposed to do.

"Nick…predators ruled the world back then," Vanessa said. "Don't you see? It wasn't like it is now, where we're looked down upon and constantly put down. Back then, we were in control, we were respected and feared…"

"For all the wrong reasons," Nick added.

Both foxes gave him another look, this one even more disdainful than the last. He realized that he would be getting into dangerous territory if he kept going, but…he wanted to know. He wanted to understand what exactly it was that these two thought predators were supposed to be.

And of course, he was procrastinating doing what he knew he needed to do.

"What does it matter what the reasons are?" Trevor asked. "The fact is, we predators were designed to be on top, not treated like garbage the way we are now."

"They want to suppress us because they know what we're capable of, and they're afraid," Vanessa said.

"I…I _guess_ so?" Nick replied, at a bit of a loss for words. "B-but…just because we have sharp fangs doesn't mean we should just go around biting prey animals, just because we _can_. Maybe they wouldn't be so afraid of us if we just showed them we don't mean them any harm…"

"You mean, by acting like a _prey_?" Vanessa said disgustedly.

"Nick, the moment you start changing your behavior to appeal to the prey, you lose what makes predators so incredible to begin with," Trevor said. "And we're designed to be aggressive, to take what we want, not to hide what makes us special and act like nice fluffy bunnies."

Trevor gave Nick a pat on the shoulder, though if he was being honest it didn't feel at all like a sign of friendship. Regardless of how Trevor and Vanessa viewed Nick, he couldn't see them as best friends anymore when they seemed to ignore everything he said.

" _They keep saying I need to be more aggressive because that's how predators are supposed to act,"_ he thought. _"Whenever I suggest treating prey animals more gently, they say it's because I'm repressing myself. But what if…what if being an aggressive 'real' predator isn't who I am inside anyway? Maybe…they're the ones repressing me! They're keeping me from being compassionate, from being as kind as I want to be, all to mold me to their image of what they think predators 'should' be! It's no different from how being around prey used to make me feel like I was repressing myself, having to hide my fangs and acting calm all the time!"_

And suddenly, it all made sense. That was why being friends with Trevor and Vanessa didn't feel like the freedom it should have, because they were repressing him just as much…only from a different side. He wasn't being any more true to himself, he was just exaggerating a different side of himself to the point where it no longer felt comfortable to be that mammal.

" _I have to get out of this,"_ he thought. _"I have to do it now, before—"_

"Are you ok, Nick?" Vanessa asked.

"Huh?" Nick said, jumping in his seat. "Oh…yeah, I'm fine…"

He sighed in defeat, knowing he had just missed another chance to say what he needed to. But after everything that had happened today and yesterday, he felt too overwhelmed to work up the courage to say it now. He promised himself he would do it as soon as he was ready, which he hoped wouldn't be too long from now.

* * *

As the weeks went on, however, Nick found it increasingly hard to get the words out. Trevor and Vanessa had started treating him more and more like he was really one of them, and even though he knew now that they weren't really letting him be himself, they were the only friends he had right now who accepted him at all. And he wasn't sure he was really ready to let go of that security yet.

But despite this, he had the feeling he wasn't going to ever feel truly free until he let them go. He had realized that after his talk with the principal, and that realization hadn't changed at all now. No matter how scared he was to do it, he would have to cut ties with the other two foxes if he wanted to stop this feeling, this pain of not being fully true to himself.

It was once again a choice between comfort and freedom. He felt safe with Trevor and Vanessa, just like he had with Judy and her friends, but he knew they were holding him back.

But as winter turned into spring, and the end of April drew near, Nick decided he had to give his friends at least one last chance before he made his decision. If they really were his friends, then they would understand why he didn't want to be their image of what a predator was supposed to be. If not, then he shouldn't feel any shame in cutting them out of his life…right?

He decided one morning that today was going to be the day to talk to them, and he swore to himself he'd stick to that decision no matter how scared he got. He got ready and got on the bus just like any other day, but his mind was anywhere but on school. It was a conscious effort all morning, trying to force himself to focus on class and not spend every moment stressing about what he was going to do later. He couldn't make the time move any faster, and worrying wasn't going to help him. So whenever he felt his heart start to pound faster, he took a deep breath and told himself to focus on class, and he was able to get through it.

As lunch period approached, it got harder and harder to avoid worrying, but Nick did his best and discovered he was much better at faking confidence than he used to be, even to himself. He supposed that was how he had gotten out of that mess he'd caused when he bit that rabbit…

Finally, the bell rang and the last class before lunch was over. Nick was the first one out of the room and went running down the hall as fast as his legs would carry him. He hoped that if he kept himself from thinking too much about his plan, he wouldn't have as much time to worry about it or give up at the last second.

Thankfully, when he reached the cafeteria, he quickly spotted Trevor and Vanessa. Unfortunately, he froze up the moment they made eye contact with him and quickly came to join him in the line. They both looked so upbeat as usual, and Nick felt bad that he was about to basically give them an ultimatum for remaining his friend. They had been nice to him, right? Was this really the right thing to do?

" _They're jerks!"_ Nick thought. _"Not only do they take this predator stuff way too far, but they're never going to truly accept me unless I act just as aggressive as them and push down any empathy I ever feel so far that no one will ever see it!"_

"Hey, Nick!" Trevor said casually. "How was your morning? Had another run-in with James Hopps, but he didn't stick around once he saw me coming."

He and Vanessa snickered and fist-bumped each other. Admittedly, Nick didn't think highly of Judy's brother James himself, but the way the other foxes seemed to enjoy being feared was…unsettling. It was even more unsettling because Nick himself understood the feeling, even though he still didn't know _why_ he felt that way. All he knew was that he didn't want to be known for scaring and hurting innocent mammals who never did anything to deserve it. No matter how much he embraced being a predator, he didn't think that was ever ok.

"Um…Nick?" Vanessa said. "Are you ok? You're just staring again."

Nick took a deep breath, and looked the foxes in the eyes, glancing back and forth between them. He wasn't going to draw this out any longer.

"Alright, guys, look," he started, trying his best to ignore his pounding heart. "I really appreciate how you guys took me in and helped me not be ashamed of who I am and everything…but for a while now you've been saying things that don't add up. You say you don't want me to 'repress' myself, but whenever I say I want to stop being mean to prey and…and reassure them I don't want to hurt them, you tell me I can't do that. You tell me I can only be a real predator if I act like how you want me to. But what if I really _don't_ feel that way? What if being aggressive all the time isn't who I am inside?"

He stopped there, waiting for their reaction. They both stared at him for several moments, glancing at each other as if genuinely surprised. They clearly hadn't expected him to say anything like this. For a moment, Nick almost spoke up again, but they finally replied.

"But you said you liked being predatory," Trevor said, confused. "When we first met you, you said you felt like you couldn't be yourself around the prey mammals because they made you feel like you needed to hide your fangs and act calm all the time. You do still want to be a predator, right?"

"I…look, yes, I was feeling repressed then!" Nick replied. "I hated having to hide and feel like I should be ashamed just because I'm a predator! I want to be able to show my fangs like it's no big deal, to let out a playful growl every now and then without anyone thinking I'm going to eat them, but…but what you keep trying to make me do is way beyond that! I never wanted to be cruel, to act like the predators in ancient times did! I just…I just want to be myself, but…what you want me to be isn't that."

Vanessa scoffed, looking deeply offended.

"So I was right, then," she said snootily. "You _do_ just want to be a _prey_! Were you just lying to us when you said you enjoyed being one of us, having the prey fear you? Having the smallest sliver of the fear and respect we predators are _supposed_ to have?"

"… _What the heck…?"_ Nick thought.

"That's _not_ what I said," Nick retorted, crossing his arms. He glared at her, giving himself a second to calm down and regain his confidence so he wouldn't look like a scared kit. "And I never cared about being feared or whatever by everyone. I don't want to be better than everyone else; I just want to be myself and not have to make everyone else uncomfortable by doing so. The thing is…I remember what it felt like when I was ashamed of myself. Ashamed because I'm a predator, a fox. And that day when I talked to June—Samantha's sister—and she was afraid of me but I let her know I wasn't going to hurt her…I felt more like myself than I ever had before. Because I wasn't ashamed at all when she noticed my sharp claws. I didn't try to hide them, and I wouldn't have even if she asked me to. Honestly, there's a part of me that still kind of liked it when she told me I was scary…and that's something I don't really understand, but I made it very clear that I wasn't going to hurt her. She was kind to me, she needed help, and I would never go out of my way to scare her just because she was a bunny, because…because I know how it feels to be looked down on for my species. And I won't do that to anyone else, ever."

With that having been said, he took another deep breath and waited for his friends to respond. When they just stood there silently, Nick had a moment of panic. Had he been too harsh?

" _No,"_ he told himself. _"Everything I said was true. I'm not going to hide it just because they don't like the real me. I was probably too quick to trust them anyway, so desperate to find someone who would accept me for who I am…"_

"Anyway, that's all I have to say," Nick said. "If you want to get over yourselves and be friends with a fox who isn't a living nightmare to be around, come find me. Otherwise, just forget about it. I'm so done here."

And he turned and walked into the line alone, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted. Neither of the other foxes followed him, but he didn't look back. He guessed they were probably seething, but he didn't care about that right now. Even if it meant sitting all by himself, at least he was free. He didn't have to put on an act, didn't have to pretend to be way more gentle or aggressive than he was. He was simply Nick Wilde, and if anyone wanted to be his friend, they would just have to accept that.

When he got to his table, sitting far away from the rest of the students, he let out another heavy sigh.

"It's over," he said quietly. "It's all over."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yeah, those two are kinda crazy.
> 
> Nick is starting to figure things out! Of course he's all on his own again :( but maybe he'll talk to Judy again before too long...?
> 
> I doubt I'll be updating this story until after Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR just in case it takes me two or more weeks to get the next one done! XD


	19. Another Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here!
> 
> Whew, I took a long time again, but it's finished now. Nothing really new to report, just more mental health trouble like before. I like to think my overall state of mind has improved a lot, but I feel that sometimes more than other times.
> 
> Happy New Year everyone! (though the first several days have looked suspiciously like 2020...)

The summer went by slowly and more or less uneventfully, but for Judy it was exactly what she needed. The last year had been so fraught with stress for her that a long break from all of that was a huge relief.

She hadn't talked to Nick at all since that one time back in the winter, and she didn't even know what to think about him anymore. She had heard through some other bunnies at school that he had attacked and bitten a fellow student, but she hadn't bothered to go and ask Nick himself whether or not it was true. After all, what did it matter now? They weren't best friends anymore, and if what he really wanted was to be a jerk to all the prey animals, there wasn't much she could do about it. Besides, after everything that happened, she didn't want to think about Nick right now. She would rather just pretend he'd never existed; that would make it easier not to feel upset over losing him as a friend.

Throughout the summer, she spent a lot of time with her other friend, Sharla. Of all her friends, she was the only one Judy saw regularly anymore; Samantha had finally stopped talking to her altogether and her sister June seemed to have followed suit, Clara hadn't been seen in months and Judy was vaguely aware that she might have moved _again_ , and Mark was starting to retreat back into himself more with every day that passed.

It felt in a way like everything they had been moving towards just suddenly disappeared. Thinking back to the days before Nick had met Trevor and Vanessa, when their friend group was growing and everyone was starting to get more comfortable with each other, it didn't feel right that it would end the way it had. There was so much more that could have happened, so many more memories they could have made together, but…now that wouldn't happen. As much as Judy wanted to believe they would eventually all get back together and everything would be like it was, that was feeling more impossible with every month that went by. At this point, she feared she had missed her window of opportunity.

The only link Judy still had to Nick was through Mallory and Brendan's friendship, and it warmed Judy's heart to know that at least _that_ hadn't changed. The two kits were now about the age Nick and Judy were when they met…just another reminder of how much time had passed.

"So…any idea how Nick is doing?" Judy had asked.

"Well, he's in his room a lot, and me and Brendan usually play outside," Mallory replied. "But have you seen Brendan in a while? He's a little taller than me now! He says he's going to be a lot bigger than me when we grow up, because foxes are bigger than bunnies, and I said…"

It didn't seem like a very fruitful approach. Nick clearly wasn't up for socializing right now, and that was probably for the best.

"Well, maybe he's just upset with himself for what he did," Sharla suggested one day, as the two were walking around the farm together.

"You mean what we _think_ he did," Judy corrected. "We didn't see it happen; it could have just been some rumor that someone made up…"

"Yeah…or maybe you just don't want to accept that he really has changed," Sharla replied.

"Maybe…" Judy said.

Judy really was thankful for Sharla, especially during a time like this when she seemed to have no other friends to call on when she needed support. Even her siblings were busy; Chloe was preparing for high school in the fall and was nervous as ever, and Peter was getting ready for his senior year. Sure, she had plenty of other siblings, but she had never felt as close with any of the rest of them as she did with those two. Out of two hundred and seventy five siblings, they had been there for her time and time again over the last several years.

Finally, the long wait came to an end on the first day of seventh grade, when Judy woke up to the sound of an alarm clock and she and several of her students rolled out of bed to get ready.

"Why did we have to have that stupid alarm?" James moaned.

"Because you're a lazy vegetable," Judy said without even looking at him.

Several of the other bunnies in the room laughed, and Judy managed a smile as she packed up her backpack and got ready to leave the room.

"If he's a vegetable, does that mean we can eat him?" another one of her brothers asked.

"Oh, shut up, _Carl_!" James retorted angrily. "Are you aspiring to be a carnivore now or something?"

"Well, logically I don't have to be, since you're in fact a vegetable," Carl replied, smiling and trying desperately to hold back a laugh.

Judy was the first one out of the room and felt mildly regretful for not staying to see how the interaction played out, but she didn't want to waste time today. Last year, her first day of school had been an awful ordeal, and she was hoping not to go through something like that again this year.

When she reached the kitchen, she grabbed a few carrot flavored bagels and started towards the door.

"I think Chloe and Peter are out on the front porch, if you want to see them before you leave today," Bonnie said from the kitchen, where she was trying hard to fix breakfast for a bunch of Judy's younger siblings.

"Really?" Judy replied. "Thanks! I was hoping to see them before school anyway."

With the smallest bit of renewed hope, she headed outside to see Chloe and Peter sitting right where she'd expected to see them, both talking and laughing. They looked up when they saw Judy, and both smiled warmly.

"Good morning, Judy," Peter said. "How did that new alarm work?"

"Perfectly," Judy laughed. "It's gonna drive James crazy all year."

"Excellent!" Chloe said, smiling deviously.

She fist-bumped Judy, who sat down beside them while Peter chuckled and shook his head.

"You two does are a couple of troublemakers," he remarked.

"Yes, we are," Chloe agreed. "So…Judy, are you ready for your first day?"

"I don't know…" Judy admitted. "Last year didn't go very well. I guess I'm just worried about what'll happen this time. Though I guess it can't really get much worse, can it?"

She laughed bitterly, and Chloe patted her on the shoulder.

"Maybe not, but it doesn't have to be all bad, right?" she said. "You still have Sharla, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Judy replied. "And she's been my friend for the longest. I'm kinda bummed that you're going to another school now, though. I should have taken advantage of having you close by more often."

"Hey, you can still call me up if you ever need me to come teach someone a lesson," Chloe said. "Though if I'm in history class, it might have to wait."

Peter chuckled.

"I wouldn't count on enjoying that class as much as you think you will," he said. "It's not like we learned stuff about predators every day. And we didn't do long essays on the details of them eating prey, either."

"Is _that_ what you wanted to read about?" Judy laughed nervously, giving Chloe a look between confused and concerned.

Chloe smiled like she was trying to hold in a laugh.

"Maybe," she said.

"You're definitely a unique one, Chloe," Judy replied.

* * *

On the bus ride, Judy sat next to Sharla and didn't talk most of the way to school. Sharla seemed more talkative, but then again she often got that way when she was nervous.

"So…do you think you're gonna see Nick at all this year?" she said. "Oh no, what if you're in the same class together? _That_ would be awkward! What if _I'm_ in class with him? Oh, Judy, do you think he really did bite that bunny? Because I don't do so well with getting hurt and I'd be really freaked out if he tried to—"

" _Sharla_!" Judy screamed, the name coming out a bit louder than she'd intended.

Sharla stared at her with a look of frozen shock, and then giggled nervously.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm just kinda nervous about this year. I don't know why; we've already had one year of junior high, so it can't be too much worse, right? Unless…oh no, you don't think Nick and those other two foxes are gonna start some little gang and go around biting all the prey mammals, do you?"

"That sounds like a conspiracy theory," Judy replied. "Are you sure you haven't been hanging around some of my older brothers lately?"

"Yeah…that _did_ sound a little out there, didn't it?" Sharla agreed. "But still…predators are scary enough on their own, but if the three of them start working together…wait, what if Gideon Grey comes back? Have you seen him in a while? What ever happened to—?"

"Sharla, honestly," Judy interrupted, "I'd love to hear all of your thoughts about what's going to happen this year, but do you think you could spread them out a little? It's only the first day; maybe we should wait a little until we actually have an idea of what's going to happen."

"I just don't know how I'm going to make it…" Sharla moaned, putting her hooves over her eyes.

Judy sighed and pulled her friend into a hug.

"You're going to be fine," she assured her. "If anyone should be worried, it's me. I don't think Nick likes me much anymore, and his friends definitely don't care for me."

Sharla nodded, still shaking a little.

"Ok, I guess you're right," she agreed. "But I'm still gonna be on my guard, and you should too! You never know what those sly foxes might get up to if we aren't paying attention!"

Judy rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Sure thing; I'll keep that in mind, Sharla," she said.

Finally they arrived at school, and Judy and Sharla got off the bus and walked inside together. It was a strange feeling, being back here again. Last year when she had first seen it, she had felt so hopeful about the time to come, about Nick and their friendship…but now here she was a year later and nothing had turned out at all like she'd hoped.

Unlike the elementary school, this building wasn't filled with good memories for Judy. This was a place that only reminded her of the stress and anxiety that had made up most of sixth grade. This was a place that reminded her of the last conversation she'd had with Nick, the place where Samantha had bombarded her with rumors about him, the place where most of her friends had eventually moved on from her and disappeared.

"We're back," Judy sighed heavily. "Guess I'll see you later? That is, hoping we get the same lunch period again."

"Well, I _hope_ we do," Sharla said nervously. "I don't have anyone else to sit with anymore, either. You know, we're not really that, um… _liked_ anymore."

"Pfft, I don't care about that," Judy replied. "Though I am sorry I dragged you down with me. I guess everyone just thinks we're still friends with Nick and thus somehow associated with his little group?"

"Yeah…" Sharla said. "Either that or they just hate us for ever being friends with a predator to begin with. But I really wouldn't want anyone else to be my friend over you, Judy."

Judy smiled.

"Thanks, Sharla," she said. "I really didn't think it would ever lead to this, though. Don't you remember when Nick stood up for Mark and everyone loved him? I guess I just hoped that mammals' opinions on predators were actually starting to change, but it doesn't seem like we really made any progress at all."

"That's not your fault, Judy," Sharla said. "Nick was the one who decided to run off with those jerks, even when you tried to stop him. I doubt there's anything we could have done anyway."

"Maybe not…" Judy agreed. "Anyway, I guess we'd better get to class. See you later, Sharla."

"See you," Sharla repeated.

* * *

The first day was so uneventful it was almost painful. Thankfully, Judy and Sharla did have the same lunch period and could talk in the cafeteria, but they shared no other classes together and neither did Judy and Nick. In fact, Judy didn't even see Nick anywhere all day, nor did she see Trevor or Vanessa. She was pretty sure they were still going to the same school, but they clearly weren't part of each other's lives anymore.

She did hear through Mallory that she and Brendan were still friends, so that meant the Wildes hadn't moved or anything. After a week or so, Judy thought she caught a glimpse of Nick in the hallway, though she wasn't sure if it was him and not one of the other foxes. Neither of them had made any efforts to reconnect, and it was starting to seem doubtful that they ever would.

Finally, about a month after school started back, Judy had said goodbye to Sharla and was just getting ready to leave school when she saw something out of the corner of her eye, over by the trees at the edge of the parking lot. A fox was sitting under a tree by himself, looking over some books and papers he had. A closer look revealed it was indeed Nick Wilde, though why he was sitting over there by himself she had no idea. Last year, she'd hardly ever seen him without Trevor and Vanessa around.

She was just about to shrug it off and continue towards the bus, but at the last moment she stopped. She sighed heavily and looked back over her shoulder at Nick, who was so focused on whatever he was doing that he didn't appear to have noticed her. Judy knew she wasn't going to be able to forget about this, and if she didn't at least try to satisfy her curiosity, she would likely spend weeks wondering about it. So, she turned away from the bus and started over to the trees, her heart pounding as she did so.

" _I haven't talked to Nick in so long!"_ she remembered. _"Will he be mad at me for coming to talk to him? Is this even a good idea? Maybe I should just go back anyway and—"_

"Judy?" Nick said, briefly looking up from his books. "What are you doing over here?"

"I…" Judy started.

She was frozen. She wasn't sure if it was some kind of rabbit instinct that happened when making eye contact with foxes, or if she was just nervous because of how their last meeting had gone. Either way, as she stood there, she found herself wondering what she _was_ doing over here. What was she going to say? They hadn't been friends for a long time now, so what excuse could she have?

"I was just…wondering…what you're doing over here," she answered nervously. "I've never seen you over here reading before. I guess I was just curious."

"Well…it's really not that interesting," Nick replied. "I'm just…trying to figure all of this out. Apparently my grades have been going downhill lately. Terribly surprising, huh?"

"I…don't understand," Judy said. " _Your_ grades aren't doing well? I always thought you were one of the smartest mammals I knew."

"Thanks, you're really inspiring a lot of confidence right now," Nick laughed bitterly.

"No, wait, I didn't mean it that way!" Judy said quickly. "I just…I don't know, I just meant I never expected to see you…struggling…with stuff like that. Do you think there's…anything…I could do to help?"

Nick looked up at her and frowned, perplexed.

" _You_ want to help?" he repeated, as if he didn't really believe it. "You haven't even _spoken_ to me in almost a year. Sorry if I don't jump back to being your best friend right away, but I'm confused about why you chose _now_ to come talk to me again."

"I…don't know; I just…" Judy started, flustered. "I didn't know what to say, alright? And…and what you said the last time we talked…I didn't know what to say to you! And you're always with those other two foxes, who are even—"

"I'm not friends with them anymore," Nick said flatly.

"Oh… R-really?" Judy asked. "How come?"

Nick shrugged.

"Turns out other predators make me bend to their will just like prey do," he said. "I didn't want to spend every second tormenting prey mammals anymore than I did hiding my fangs."

"Oh…o-ok," Judy said, unsure how exactly to respond to that. "So…you're sure you don't want me to help you with that? I've never had a lot of trouble with schoolwork, so I could probably help…"

"Gotta find some way to let me know how smart you are, don't you?" Nick replied.

Judy folded her arms.

"You mean like how you and your friends used to go out of your way to be 'predatory' and scare everyone?" she said.

"Fair enough," Nick sighed. "Look…if you really want to help, I could honestly use it. I just don't want to make it awkward for us after…you know, everything."

"I know…" Judy agreed. "I just thought…I don't know, maybe we could try again? I know I wasn't as good a friend to you as I should have been, and I'm sorry… I just want to find a way to make up for that. If you want to snarl and show off your fangs and…be scary and all that all the time, I don't mind. I get that we're different, so I won't try to make you act like a bunny."

She closed her eyes, too afraid to face Nick. At least now she knew she had done everything she could; there was no way to go back and change the past, so all she could hope was that he would give her another chance.

After a long pause, Nick finally stood up and walked over to Judy, who opened her eyes.

" _Yikes…he's already quite a bit taller than me…"_ she thought, heart rate increasing a little. _"Really makes him look like more of a predator than he used to…"_

"Thanks," he said. "I, uh…don't think I'm going to need to growl at you all the time, but…thanks for the reassurance. Maybe…we could talk after school again tomorrow? If you wanted to help, we could get together on the weekends or something…unless you're busy then."

"N-no, that works fine for me!" Judy replied, her voice coming out as more of a shriek than she'd intended. "Sharla's the only one I still really talk to, so I don't have much going on either. That sounds really good!"

"Ok, then…" Nick said. "See you tomorrow, then, I guess. We'd better get to the bus before it leaves."

"Oh, right!" Judy said. "Come on!"

* * *

One October morning, a few weeks later, Nick got up early, getting out of bed and cramming as many books and papers as he could into his backpack. He made no effort to organize them; he could just dig through it later and find whatever he needed. Once he was done, he hurried out of his room and found his parents talking in the kitchen.

"Ready early?" his dad laughed. "Haven't seen you up this early on Saturday in a long time!"

"Yeah…I don't want to keep Judy waiting," Nick answered.

"So, how did this all come up, again?" his mom asked curiously. "Every time I used to bring up Judy, you'd just say you didn't see her much anymore."

"It's…well, a lot of stuff happened," Nick said vaguely. "But Judy happened to see me the other day and we talked some about school, and she offered to study with me, I guess."

"Hmm…" his mom said thoughtfully. "Well, if you're all ready, let's go out to the car."

The drive to the Hopps' farm wasn't very long; Nick had forgotten that he and Judy lived so close to each other. All the way there, he tried to calm his nerves, but he couldn't stop worrying about what might happen. It had been so long since he'd regularly spent time with Judy, and he just wanted everything to go well. Preferably, he also wanted to improve his grades, but that was being pushed to the back of his mind right now.

Luckily, they arrived soon enough, and after saying goodbye to his mother, Nick ran up to the door, where he found Judy waiting for him. His heart sped up when he saw her, suddenly feeling even more nervous. He really didn't want this to go badly, and their history was so shaky that he felt like any little thing might cause the chance of a new friendship to collapse entirely.

"H-hi, Judy," he said.

" _What was_ that _?!"_ he thought. _"Why am I stuttering like that? This is going to be harder than I thought…"_

"Hi, Nick," Judy replied; her tone was relaxed, but not overly enthusiastic either. "So, I can't clear out enough of my crazy siblings to use my room, and I, uh…didn't exactly want a bunch of them to know you were coming, so…is it fine if we go out to the shed? There's a…sort of makeshift bedroom above it; I think my grandpa or my dad had it put there as a place to stay if the weather was too bad to walk back to the burrow. It's not the best place, but…it's out of the way so James or any of my other crazy siblings won't annoy us."

"Um…sure," Nick said. "How far away is it? I think I remember seeing something like that before…"

"Follow me," Judy said, stepping down from the porch. "It's a bit of a walk, which is why the 'in case the weather is bad' room got added in. Hopefully Chloe's not hanging out there. Sometimes she goes there to hide her secret stash of blueberries or whatever else she doesn't want anyone to know about. I bet if she ever found that essay Peter wrote she'd probably take it there…"

"What…?" Nick laughed, confused. "Why would she want to look at her brother's homework?"

Judy laughed too.

"Long story," she said. "You don't want to know."

Nick smiled, starting to relax as Judy led the way across the farm, to the shed. So far, things were going well. He was sure she was going to bring up past events at some point, but at least for now, it was almost as if none of that had happened, as if nothing had changed.

And yet, everything was different now. Nick had grown into a different mammal since he was best friends with Judy, and he was sure she had grown a lot too. They had been through a lot together back when they were friends, but in the last year or so they had faced everything separately. Nick didn't know if Judy had gone through anything like what he had experienced recently, but he got the feeling everything hadn't been simple and easy for her. After all, she'd said something before about not really talking to anyone other than Sharla, which made it sound like a lot of her other friends had moved on too. He didn't want to ask where Samantha went, but something told him he was probably indirectly responsible for _that_ friendship falling apart.

They arrived at the shed, a good distance away from the house in a solitary area. It definitely looked old and wasn't the nicest building, but it also looked pretty sturdy. Judy inserted a key, turned it, and opened the door to step inside, leading Nick towards some stairs off to the side. It was dark, but enough light made it in through the door cracks that it wasn't hard to see. Plus, Nick's eyes were better designed for seeing in the dark anyway.

"I usually do my homework here too, at least in the last few years," Judy admitted. "Thankfully most of my annoying siblings are too lazy to walk all the way over here, so they don't bother me. But just to be sure, I keep one of the keys with me. Chloe has one, I think Peter has one, and…Dad probably has the last one? There might be more keys, but none of my younger siblings have them. Oh! I think my older brother Jeff might have one too. He used to come out here and play his guitar…but he's off working at our uncle's farm right now."

At the top of the stairs, Judy opened another door and flipped a light switch, revealing a very small room with a dusty bed in the back, by a small window. There were a few piles of boxes on either side, but there wasn't much room for anything else. It was all very dusty, and the walls and ceiling looked kind of incomplete…which probably explained why it was colder in here than it would have been in a normal house. It was a good thing Nick had come wearing his coat.

"Ok, we can sit either on the floor or on the bed," Judy said. "Not much difference, really; the mattress on that bed feels like a pile of bricks."

Nick laughed.

"Well, in that case, I guess the floor is fine," he said.

"Excellent," Judy replied, taking a seat on the floor and leaning against the bed, and then pulling some books from her own backpack. "I'm guessing you brought your school stuff too?"

"Of course!" Nick said jokingly. "Come on, you know we foxes are smarter than _that_!"

"Oh, really?" Judy said, giving him a suspicious look. "Then why is it you had to ask a _bunny_ for help with your homework?"

"Well…yeah, good point," Nick conceded.

He flopped down on the floor next to her and both of them laughed. For a brief moment, Nick almost forgot again about everything that happened between them, and it was like they had always been best friends. Then the moment faded, and he proceeded to pull his own mess of schoolbooks and unfinished homework from his backpack. Judy looked at the messy pile and frowned.

"Do I need to give you a lesson on how to organize your backpack, too?" she asked.

"Hey, it's not _that_ bad!" Nick replied. "Besides, I know where everything is. It's organized chaos. Maybe _I_ should teach _you_ how to sort your stuff."

"Cheese and crackers, no," Judy said, chuckling a little. "I think I'll stick with my way. Anyway…what's the first thing you want to go over?"

"Uh…" Nick started, searching quickly through his messy pile of books. "Well, how about we start with this?"

He held up a math textbook and Judy nodded, retrieving an identical one from her own stack.

"Well, if it's any consolation," she said, "I hate this course too. I had to get Peter to help me. Chloe offered to, but apparently she forgot everything about it as soon as she finished the class…"

And so they dove right into the books and Judy immediately got to work explaining the concepts to Nick. He found that, surprisingly, after hearing her explain them a few times, they actually started to make sense. It was almost like he was able to see the problems in a whole new light, one that made everything seem obvious in retrospect.

And they didn't stop with math. The two mammals spent hours going through subject after subject; Judy occasionally berated Nick for goofing off and not paying attention, but most of the time he paid attention and they got along well. Learning from her just felt so much more relaxed, so much less intimidating than sitting in the classroom with all the other kits and trying to remember what he'd learned when all he'd really done was sit and wait for the bell to ring.

After a while, Judy decided their time was up, and she packed her books back up.

"I think this went well," she said, smiling. "If you ever want to do this again, I'm sure I'll have plenty of time. Like I said, I don't really have anything else to do, unless Sharla comes over or my dad finds extra stuff for me to help out with on the farm."

"That would be great!" Nick agreed. "I guess…I'll tell you if I need any more help. But…thanks for doing this. I think it really helped."

"No problem!" Judy replied. "Well, we'd better get back, or my parents might start wondering where I am. You'd be surprised at how much my mom notices, even when she has over two hundred kits to watch."

Nick laughed.

"Yeah, my mom will probably be here to pick me up soon, so we probably should go back," he agreed.

He packed up his own books—by throwing them in his backpack in no particular order—and then followed Judy down the stairs and back out of the shed. They were mostly silent as they walked back to the burrow, and for some reason Nick found himself feeling…disappointed.

" _I learned so much more than I thought I would…"_ he thought. _"We didn't have any trouble getting along, even after all the stuff that happened. So why do I feel like_ this _now…?"_

Nick was in a mental daze when they got back to the burrow and he and Judy said their goodbyes. He was still feeling out of it when his mother arrived to pick him up, but he did his best to put on his casual face and look like nothing was wrong.

Even so, the whole way home and the rest of the day, he kept thinking about that morning. He thought about how easy it had been to learn—how much fun it had been, even—but mostly he thought about how much he liked spending time with Judy. She was so fun to be around, so kind and helpful but also able to joke and mess around with him… Had he never noticed that before?

As he lay in bed that night, he found himself wondering if he had just forgotten what Judy was like, or if she really had changed. But one thing was for certain.

Right now, what Nick wanted more than anything was to spend time with her. This time, he promised, he wasn't going to let this friendship slip away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAHHHHHH Nick is 13 and Judy's going to be 13 in a few months we're finally getting to the teenage years! :) I can hardly believe it's been a whole year since I started this story. I have grown so much in the past year and it's just crazy to think that I haven't even gotten to the parts of this story I used to fantasize about all the time...but we're getting closer!
> 
> See you all next time, which I hope won't be three weeks from now! XD


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